The Legend of Zelda: Child of Prophecy
by The Other Author
Summary: After a deadly battle, Naruto finds himself in a strange temple. He discovers what his destiny truly is as he faces challenges from all sides. Watch as the child of prophecy discovers the power hidden within. The Goddesses' chosen hero will face adversity that hasn't been seen since the age of twilight. Will he save the world or will it face demise?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi. Yeah. I know. It's been a while. And I'm posting a multi-chaptered story. I won't abandon this one, although it may take a while between chapters. After reading so many stories that got abandoned, I have resolved to never write a story that doesn't get an ending. Yes that is quite the promise, but I'll do my best to ensure this story is completed. I will say that getting reviews is a nice motivator. Yes it's the same excuse used by everyone else, but it is rather nice seeing that I'm not wasting several hours of my time for something that no one cares about.

This story is rated M for safety. Partially because I enjoy writing bloody death scenes, and it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Legend of Zelda. Guess I shouldn't go purchase a life size replica of a goron. Oh well.

* * *

Kakashi grimaced as he watched an enraged Naruto pummel Deidara relentlessly. His hand gravitated towards his pouch to grab a suppression seal to suppress the Kyuubi's power. Kakashi kept his eye on the battle, waiting for a good time to interrupt the fight.

'This seal won't help if I'm dead. I just hope Naruto can control the Kyuubi,' Kakashi mused.

Deidara substituted himself with a log and landed on a tree branch.

Naruto's body was now covered in a red cloak of Chakra and had a single tail of chakra behind him. He bared his teeth at Deidara, who smirked in return.

"If only your little friend had this kind of power, he may still be among the living, Hm!" Deidara mocked.

Naruto's eyes widened as a second tail formed behind him. Wasting no time, Naruto jumped at Deidara, poised to rip out his throat.

Upon seeing this, Deidara's smirk turned to a full grin as he welcomed the angry Jinchuriki with open arms. Naruto's clawed hand gripped Deidara's throat, as Deidara grabbed onto Naruto with a bear hug while Naruto ripped out his throat.

In Naruto's hand was clay.

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock. 'That is not good!'

The clay clone of Deidara started to bloat as it let out a wispy laugh.

"Art is a blast!"

Deidara's clone exploded with great force.

Kakashi fled as the explosion flattened the forested area. He felt a tear come to his eyes in anger. He was unable to use his Kamui to save Naruto from the explosion, as he would have risked losing Naruto to the dimension forever. He returned to where they had placed Gaara's body and created a shadow clone.

Kakashi picked up Gaara's body as the clone left to search around the forested area for any signs of Naruto.

'Naruto was covered by the Kyuubi's cloak. Surely he would survive,' thought Kakashi as his ANBU training kicked in and prevented him from panicking.

After adjusting Gaara on his shoulder, Kakashi headed towards the Suna. They would want the body of their young leader back.

* * *

Sakura looked around the clearing for any sign of Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara. They had been missing for a long time, and she was beginning to worry.

"Don't you agree, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked and looked to her right to see Lady Chiyo looking at her.

"Ah sorry Chiyo-sama, I was checking to see if my team was back," replied Sakura apologetically as she turned to face Chiyo.

"Bah they will be fine. The son of the White Fang won't fall that easily, and that teammate of yours is no slouch either," Chiyo replied.

Sakura smiled and was about to reply, when suddenly Chiyo's eyes widened in surprise. Sakura looked behind herself and saw Kakashi carrying Gaara.

With a smile on her face, Sakura started to run towards her sensei. As she neared him, she realized something that shook her to the core.

'Where's Naruto?'

Kakashi frowned as he kneeled down and gently put Gaara's body on the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei, where's Naruto?" asked Sakura in a worried tone.

Kakashi's uncovered eye looked up at Sakura, and quickly turned to the ground.

"Deidara tricked Naruto into rushing him," Kakashi explained, "Naruto went to kill Deidara for revenge. However, Deidara had replaced himself with a clay clone."

People all over the camp started paying close attention to Kakashi's story.

"The clone grabbed Naruto in a bear hug, and started to expand. Because Naruto was right next to the clone, and I haven't had practice with my new abilities, I was unable to get rid of the clone. I was forced to flee as the clone detonated. I grabbed Gaara's body after leaving a clone to search for any possible remains, and well, here I am."

Tears came to Sakura's eyes as she fell to her knees. As the tears fell from her eyes, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking behind her, she saw Rock Lee and the members of Team 9, all of whom had shocked expressions on their faces.

Sakura's head snapped back at Kakashi as she felt her anger rise.

"You could have saved him with your eye!" yelled Sakura, "It was a risk, but it would be better than losing him!"

Kakashi frowned as he retorted, "The way they were together and from where I was standing I would have ripped out Naruto's chest. He still would have died that way, and I wouldn't be here either as the blast destroyed my body."

"Well what are we supposed to do now? This mission was a total loss. Not only did we not save Gaara, we lost Naruto. What was the point of this mission? To bring us grief?" Sakura growled out as she stood up, fists clenched and ready to strike.

"This will not be a total loss."

Sakura turned towards Lady Chiyo with a puzzled look on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"There is a technique I can use to bring back Gaara. I cannot bring back your friend, but the Sand village needs our leader."

Chiyo knelt down at Gaara's body while Suna ninjas cried out saying that the technique would kill her.

Chiyo smirked. "Bah I've lived long enough. At least this way I won't die some boring death in my sleep. Now I don't have enough chakra I need some assistance."

Chiyo felt two hands on her back, as Sakura and Kakashi started to channel chakra through her.

"Kisho Tensei!" yelled out Chiyo as she went through the hand signs.

A pale blue shine released from her hand as she healed Gaara.

Several minutes later, Gaara's eyes opened as Chiyo's closed. Chiyo started to fall over when Sakura grabbed her.

Gaara sat up and looked around the clearing as people cheered.

"What happened?" asked Gaara.

* * *

A ray of light shined through a stained glass window onto the face of a blonde boy sleeping on a cot. Blue eyes flickered to life as the ray irritated him.

The boy let out a groan as he sat up from the cot and turned to stand.

'Ugh what happened this time,' Naruto thought hazily.

He reached towards his head and felt a slightly damp rag on his forehead. He peeled the rag off as he looked around the room.

The small room he was in appeared to be made out of marble, and the walls had strange carvings of what appeared to be birds. Naruto looked back at the stained glass and saw that it was in the pattern of some type of brown rock creature with piercing blue eyes and whitish hair and beard. Naruto raised his eyebrow at the peculiar depicted creature.

Naruto heard footsteps and the squeaking of a door. He reached for a kunai, when he realized that he was shirtless and wearing some type of baggy black pants. Dismayed, Naruto looked up to see an elderly man walk in.

The man was hunched over, but still stood about six feet tall. He had long white hair that flowed down to his back. The whiteness of his hair seemed to clash with his ashen skin. He had long beard that covered his throat and ended just at his collar bone. His eyes appeared to be a nearly golden yellow. His nose was long, somewhat flat on his face, and had flared nostrils. He wore a white kimono that had a red trim and a pattern of a bird on the back.

The old man looked at Naruto with a surprised look.

"Oh my!" declared the old man, "You're already awake? That is amazing!"

The old man walked over to Naruto and examined him.

Surprised at his friendliness, Naruto sat quietly as he was examined.

"Now my boy, what is your name?" questioned the man with a slight smile.

Naruto was about to share his name, when he realized that he didn't know his supposed care taker's name either.

As if sensing Naruto's dilemma, the old man laughed. "My name is Hakkai, and I have been taking care of you ever since you flew in through my roof."

Naruto's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at Hakkai's words.

"What do you mean I flew through a roof!" yelled a bewildered Naruto.

Hakkai chuckled as he motioned for Naruto to follow him through the open door.

Standing up, Naruto followed the strange old man through the door. Naruto's jaw once again dropped as he looked around.

The building was colossal. He walked forwards out of his room and saw that he was on a balcony twenty feet above the ground floor. As he walked towards a guard rail, he felt the ground was covered in a very lush and soft carpet. Looking down he saw that carpet was red and had a gold trimming around the edge of the carpet. Looking across the balcony to the other side, he saw large arched marble walls and carved marble pillars hold the roof up. Naruto leaned slightly over the runway and looked at the ceiling. The ceiling appeared to rise an additional fifty feet up. The ceiling was domed and had patterns made of royal purple and what appeared to be gold. Naruto looked back down from the ceiling and looked to his left, and saw a large archway with a very large door that Naruto presumed lead to the outside. Above the archway was a gigantic bronze medallion that had a pattern of a large triangle comprised of four smaller triangles.

'What is this place? It's amazing.'

Naruto's gaze followed the red carpet leading from the door to stairs that lead to both balconies, as well as leading towards the lower level. The stairs leading towards the level stopped raised platform with a large statue on the edge of the middle of the platform directly in front of the stairs. The stairs continued downwards around both sides of the statue. The statue was carved out of marble and depicted a young man holding aloft a winged sword in his left hand. The statue was holding a shield that had the large triangle pattern on it with what appeared to be the wings and talons of a bird below it.

'Maybe that's the owner.'

Naruto could see that the carpet ended and the marble floor was left uncovered. In front of the statue on the lower floor was a hexagonal depression on the floor. The depression was four inches into the ground. Each side of the hexagon was thirty feet long. In the center of the depression was a pedestal with a completely grey sword in it. The pedestal was in the middle triangle of the larger triangle.

From his position, Naruto was unable to see exactly what was underneath the balcony on either side of the building, but he was fairly certain he saw some type of tapestry on the wall. He frowned in curiosity as he looked away from the tapestry. Looking to the right of the room, he saw the building ended in a large marble wall that had a large stained glass window that covered half the wall.

The window had what appeared to be three women lifting their arms towards the large golden triangle. The women were positioned in a straight line underneath the triangle and were facing it. The woman on the left was wearing red robes and had long red hair. The woman in the middle looked identical to the woman on the left, but her clothes and hair were green. On the right, the third woman was a blue version of the others. Above the triangle was the sun giving of orange and golden rays of light. The triangle appeared to have wings, as if it were flying above the three women. On the sides of the women, there was a depiction of mountains, land, and sea.

"And if you look above the glass window, you'll see where you entered the building."

Naruto looked above the window and saw a several large boards covering a large hole in the roof.

Naruto started to scratch the back of his head as he let out a nervous chuckle.

"Ah sorry about that pops, is there anything I can do?"

The old man cracked a smile at Naruto.

"Oh do not worry about it. It gave me something to do in this old temple," Hakkai said warmly, "I have been in charge of taking care of this temple for a very long time, before you, your parents, or even their grandparents were a thought in your ancestors mind."

Naruto raised his eyebrow at this statement.

"Anyways, now that you're awake, you should eat some food. It's been two days since you appeared, and you must be awfully hungry."

At the mention of food, Naruto's stomach growled.

"That would be great!" Naruto exclaimed. His opened as he remembered the part of a tapestry he saw. "But first, could you tell me about the tapestry down there?"

Hakkai smiled at Naruto.

"Well if that's what you want, I'll tell you the story of this temple."

Naruto followed Hakkai down the stairs and past the statue. Now that Naruto was in the middle of the temple, the grandness of it fell on him. He had never seen such a large and amazing building, nor has he even heard of one!

'How in the world was this hidden? It must have been some strong genjutsu.'

Feeling a tug on his shoulder, Naruto looked at Hakkai who had a knowing smile on his face. Hakkai guided him towards one of several tapestries.

The first tapestry was divided into thirds horizontally. On the left of each piece was the face of a woman. The one on the top had red hair and red eyes. It appeared as the she was breathing out fire. At the end of the fire there were lands and mountains formed. In the middle was the face of another woman that breathed out water. At the end of the water there was a copy of the above lands, but there was now plants, trees, and water. All of the land was in grayscale. On the bottom was a green version of the woman. This woman simple breathed on the land, which was depicted as having human and animal life, as well as making the picture colored.

Hakkai smiled at Naruto as he explained that the tapestry represented the three goddesses creating the world. Din, the Goddess of Power created the lands. Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, gave spirit and law to the world. Farore, the Goddess of Courage took what Nayru created, and used it to create life to enjoy the lands.

The second tapestry showed the three goddesses above the triangle symbol, which was floating in the sky above the land. Underneath the land were depictions of people worshipping the goddesses and the triangle.

"This tapestry shows the goddesses leaving their golden power, the Triforce, in the hands of mortals. The goddesses then withdrew from the land, entrusting the power to the mortals. The top part of the Triforce was filled with Din's power. The left was filled with Nayru's wisdom. The right was filled with Farore's courage. It was said that whoever was filled with a great and equal amount of all three of these would gain the power of the goddesses."

Hakkai led Naruto towards the next tapestry that depicted a single woman holding a sword and a harp. In front of the woman was a large black figure locking swords with a young man in green. Behind the young man were several large birds and several floating islands. Behind the black figure was the land burning and covered in darkness.

"Now this part of history we know very little about," Hakkai said in a sad tone, "From what I have researched, the woman is a goddess separate from the three. She was said to be in charge of ensuring darkness did not destroy the land. The black figure resembles a demon who hated the Goddess so much that he declared war on her and attempted to kill all of mankind. The young man on the right was possibly the first incarnation of the Goddess' chosen hero. He fought this darkness and killed him, but not before being cursed that their descendants would forever be locked in combat."

The next tapestry had the Triforce on the left half, with a white line in the middle of the tapestry. In the middle of the white line was a man holding his hand out to the right. On the right half of the tapestry there were depictions of war and murder. On the left half, underneath the Triforce, there were depictions of peace and prosperity.

"After the demon was killed by the hero, the land entered a time of chaos. The people fought and killed to grab the power of the goddesses. The Sage of Light, Rauru, then sealed away the golden power, which resulted in the land entering an era of prosperity."

Naruto's head was spinning from all of the information that Hakkai was telling him. If he would have known there was this much to learn, he would have at least eaten first! Naruto spaced out as Hakkai described the history of a boy who was able to split himself into four.

"Now this is important, so you should start paying attention now," Hakkai stated.

Blushing at being caught, Naruto nodded and focused on the next tapestry. The tapestry had a child in green pulling a double edged sword with a winged purple hilt from a pedestal in the middle. On the left of the child was the young man in green fighting a very large man with black skin and fiery red hair. The young man held the sword in his left hand, and was depicted swinging the sword to kill the man. To the right of the child was the same child speaking with a young blonde haired girl and a man wearing a red and gold crown. In the background you could see the red haired man being arrested.

"This tapestry depicts the legendary Hero of Time. A long time ago, a young boy came and was tasked with opening the door to the realm where the Triforce was sealed in order to save the land from an evil man. After breaking the seal, the boy entered a room where the Master Sword rested. The boy went to the sword, and lifted it from its resting place. After doing so, he was locked in the sacred realm for seven years until he was able to use this weapon. Unfortunately, this was a mistake," mentioned Hakkai as he pointed towards the left part of the picture. "By opening the Sacred Realm, the child let the reincarnation of the demon enter the resting place of the Triforce. Knowing the legend of the goddesses' power, the Demon King attempted to steal the Triforce, but he did not have equal power, wisdom, and courage. The Triforce then broke into three pieces. The demon gained the Triforce of Power, the hero's reincarnation gained the Triforce of Courage, while the goddess of the realm's human reincarnation was gifted the Triforce of Wisdom. Are you still getting this?"

Naruto slowly nodded his head. "I think so pops, but this is a lot of information. Are you sure this is important at all and not just some way to fill up time?"

Hakkai frowned. "Of course it's important! What if you had never heard of this before, or it had been a long time! I could understand if you already had an intricate knowledge of it, but what are the odds of that?"

Seeing the old man starting to get angry, Naruto raised his hands in front of him.

"Ah I didn't mean anything pops, I really am enjoying this, please go on!" Naruto quickly said with a slight hint of worry in his voice.

Hakkai let out a grunt and mumbled about disrespectful youths with no respect for history.

"Now where was I?" muttered Hakkai, "It seems I lost my place, I guess I should start over."

"No, no!" shouted Naruto, in fear of another lecture, "You were just talking about the square power going to the three guys or something!"

"Ah that's right. Thank you erm. I never got your name."

A sweat drop formed at the back of Naruto's head.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha –tebayo!"

"Well thank you for reminding me where I was Naruto. So the Triforce was split between the three of them. During the hero's seven year slumber, the demon king conquered the land. Upon waking from his slumber, the hero was distraught at the destruction he had inadvertently caused. Determined to make things right, he gathered the six sages to seal the demon king away. After his victory, the hero returned the sword to the pedestal, and was returned to his childhood. As a child, the Hero warned the king and the reincarnation of the goddess about the Demon King's treachery. This allowed the Demon King to be sealed before he accessed the power of the goddesses."

Hakkai frowned as he guided Naruto to the next tapestry. On this tapestry there were two bloodshot orange eyes, and a picture of the hero riding a horse towards them.

"This period of history is strange. We can prove that the Hero left the land in search of a friend, and encountered a being possibly stronger than the demon king, but we have nothing telling us what happened. The only thing that we know is that some red haired man is involved, and that whatever happened in this time is still lurking around."

Naruto gulped at the thought of such a possibly dangerous thing existing.

'When I get back to Konoha I'll have to ask baa-chan or ero-sennin if they know anything about this red haired man.'

He was pulled from his thoughts as he saw Hakkai had led him to the last tapestry. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

The last tapestry showed the Hero in green holding the master sword outwards to his left. Behind the hero on his right was a skeletal figure facing backwards and looking to the left, where his own sword was pointed. On the right of the hero was a beautiful red haired woman in rather revealing black clothing. Above the trio, a helmeted figure floated. In front of the trio the Demon King was on his knees, while blood pooled around him. Around the Demon King were black beasts with red runes etched all over their bodies.

"The last tapestry we have shows the reincarnation of the Hero of Time killing the Demon King. After the aid of the ghost of the Hero of Time, the Hero of Twilight was able to free the Twilight Princess, the woman on the right you are currently drooling over."

Naruto blushed and wiped his mouth to see if he was actually drooling.

"The princess had been transformed into an imp like creature by the helmeted man in the back. The Hero was drafted by the princess to help restore her to her former glory, as well as to save her people. The Hero journeyed to gain a powerful artifact said to be able to grant grand power to the wearer. Along the way, the Hero met with the ghost of his previous incarnation. The Hero of Time was trapped due to his regret for not having a descendant to teach his ways and was unable to be the hero he was supposed to be. After a long journey, The Hero of Twilight had learned many skills from the ghost, and was able to face the helmeted man in combat. After defeating him, it was revealed that he was merely a figure head, and that the Demon King was the true ruler. The Hero rushed to face the man. After defeating the Demon Kings puppet, his beastly form, and besting him in combat twice, the Hero was able to land a killing blow, stabbing the Demon King through the chest. The Demon King attempted to use the Triforce of Power to revive himself, but the power had abandoned him. The Demon King perished, and his evil soul was absorbed into the Master Sword, and remains there to this day."

Naruto mentally let out a cheer as Hakkai finished his tale.

"Eh that was great and I really appreciate it, but could I get some food now? I'm starving!"

Hakkai let out a hearty laugh. As he motioned for Naruto to follow him once again. He led Naruto up the stairs and towards the room Naruto had been staying in.

Hakkai told Naruto to sit, to which Naruto complied. Hakkai then left the room and returned a couple of minutes later with two bowls of a hearty pumpkin stew. Hakkai handed Naruto the bowl, and turned to eat his own. Looking up from his first spoonful, he saw Naruto holding an empty bowl towards him with puppy dog eyes, as if he was asking for more of the stew.

Shocked, Hakkai left the room and returned with the entire pot of stew. Naruto took the pot and started eating the stew at a rapid pace normally reserved for ramen.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief after he finished the entire pot of stew. He looked up and Hakkai and smiled.

"Thanks for the food pops! I feel like I haven't eaten in. Two. Days."

Naruto froze in realization.

"I've been missing for two days! My friends are gonna be worried about me!" Naruto started to rush out the door when Hakkai grabbed him.

Naruto was about to pull his arm free when Hakkai raised his right hand to ask him to wait.

"I understand you are worried, but as I'm sure you've noticed. This is quite the coincidence for you to be here is it not? You fall through the roof of a place you have never heard of after struggling in some sort of fight that you were unable to win."

Naruto looked at the old man as he saw the truth in his words.

"You were destined to be here." Hakkai saw a look of disgust at the mention of destiny. "You may not like it, but destiny exists. That is why the reincarnations of the hero and demon king have met so many times. The proof is here, and I fear I know why you arrived."

Naruto gave a confused glance at Hakkai.

"You are here because a great evil is to return. This temple was blessed by the seven sages to only allow a few people to see it. To all others this temple is just random group of ruins in the forest. It is not a coincidence that you were able to penetrate the magic of the sages. I can understand you are in a hurry so I will not tell you more, but I can sense an even greater power within you." Hakkai watched as Naruto's right hand grabbed his stomach. "When the time comes for you to control your gifted power, return to me and I shall help you realize your destiny."

Hakkai let go of Naruto's arm. Naruto smiled at Hakkai and ran towards the exit of the temple.

"Old man, thanks for your help! I'll definitely come back when I need you to help make me stronger, but first I have to let people know I'm okay!"

Naruto opened the door for the temple and rushed out, the door slamming shut behind him. Hakkai chuckled to himself as he headed towards the kitchen to make some more food. As he got to the kitchen, he heard the door open once more. Naruto was in the door way blushing and scratching the back of his head.

"Ah I um. I forgot to ask which way I need to go to get to Konoha."

Hakkai face palmed and pointed to the Northeast.

* * *

A/N 2: Well that was fun. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. If you have any suggestions for improvement, let me know. I'd really like to know what you thought about the whole tapestry thing. I'm hoping to make this story more accessible to people who have unfortunately not played a Zelda game. Also it may be a bit of time before I release the next chapter because life. That's how I get ya, I don't tell you about the update time until you're invested. I should go be a politician.

If you want to see a somewhat close visual representation of the temple, it is heavily based on Hyrule Castle from The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker. Not the HD version. Yes there are some minor differences.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: WHAAAT? It's only been two weeks and I'm uploading another chapter? I KNOW IT'S INSANE. All 2 of my long time followers know it's insane! Usually it's 2 months before I upload, but I had quite a bit of inspiration to get this out. Mostly because I knew I was going to be really busy and I wanted something I could use to tide you all over before the death threats roll in. Also, this chapter is one thousand words of actual story shorter, but then again it isn't a butt ton of me talking about tapestries. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it, and please review. Thought I needed more nonsensical humor? Review! Think that I need everything in the story to happen two inches to the left? Review! Think that I need to make Naruto eat less ramen? You should see your doctor because you're crazy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything else I may reference. Guess I should stop the production of the T-Shirts.

* * *

"So after I fixed the guy's kitchen, I got here as fast as I could!" Explained Naruto in a frenzy.

Tsunade slowly closed her eyes as she processed what Naruto had just told her.

"You rushed a ninja known for using explosive techniques," Tsunade whispered.

"Mhmm."

"Flew several hundred yards into someone's home."

"It was a temple, not his house!"

"Right. Temple. After he was nice enough to help you out, you started to return to Konoha, but stopped at a town for the night."

"Baa-chan are you alright? Your face is getting red."

"And then you accidentally burnt down a barbeque restaurants kitchen."

Naruto chuckled nervously and inched towards the nearest window.

"You then got arrested, and faced paying over three hundred thousand ryo in damages."

There was a sudden crack as Tsunade's desk started to splinter from where she was gripping the sides.

"But to avoid paying the fine, you rebuilt the kitchen in a day using your clones. But you did it in that stupid transformation of yours, while wearing your Konoha headband?" Tsunade roared.

"Ah well after I used my Sexy Jutsu to get out of charges they said I'd only have to pay one hundred thousand ryo and asked that I stay in it."

Tsunade's eyebrows twitched. Her eyes opened as she delivered a mighty punch to her desk, which promptly turned into sawdust.

"Naruto!"

Naruto closed his eyes as the enraged Hokage lept towards him. Bracing for the worst, he was surprised when he felt two arms wrap around him. Looking up he saw tears falling from Tsunade's eyes.

"I'm just happy you're alright. I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."

There was a loud pop.

"Even if Konoha will be the laughing stock of the world because of your slutty kitchen building team."

"Baa-Chan," choked out Naruto, "Can't. Breathe. Help."

Tsunade let go of Naruto with a sigh. She turned around, stepped over the large pile of pulverized wood, and opened a window. She stomped on the ground, sending a shockwave towards the wood, which promptly exited the room via the window.

Naruto pondered whether it was Tsunade's skill as a ninja that allowed her quick clean up, or if the remnants of the poor desk just knew better than to face Tsunade's wrath once more.

Tsunade sat down in her chair, and channeled chakra to the floor. The room filled with smoke and there was a loud pop. When the smoke cleared, Tsunade was sitting at a new desk. Naruto sweatdropped.

"Now about this "temple,"" Tsunade said, "From what you said it is under some powerful Genjutsu. Nothing in our records mentions anything other than ruins and forest in this area, and our records go back to the time of my grandfather."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair as a puzzled look came to her face.

"The fact that neither a Sharingan or Byakugan user has seen this place worries me," Tsunade looked at Naruto, "Are you certain this Hakkai fellow said the temple was under a Jutsu?"

"Well no, he said it was magic," Naruto proclaimed, "but everyone knows magic doesn't exist."

A sigh escaped Tsunade's mouth, "Naruto, we live in a world where people can create tornados, transform into nearly anything, teleport, and summon talking animals. And we see this as normal. It is entirely possibly that there is some form of magic that we haven't discovered, or had lost to time."

Naruto's eyes widened and mouth opened at this revelation.

'If magic can exist, does that mean all that other stuff could have happened to?' Naruto's expression turned into a thoughtful one. 'If there really was a Demon King and a goddess had a hero, what does it mean?'

"I'm not the one to speak about this with," Tsunade said as if she were reading Naruto's mind. "I'll make Jiraiya speak with you when he returns from his mission."

Naruto smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a tapping sound. Naruto and Tsunade looked towards the still open window, and saw a messenger bird politely waiting outside, tapping the glass. The pair looked at the bird with amused looks on their faces.

Tsunade got up to get the message.

"Well they train these things very well. I think someone needs a raise," said Tsunade.

Naruto watched as Tsunade's eyebrow raised while she read the note.

"It seems your team will be back in three days to gather a search party to try and find your body."

Looking up from the note, Tsunade saw that Naruto had become as pale as a ghost. Tsunade chuckled and moved to put her hand on his shoulder.

"You did the right thing." Naruto gave Tsunade a puzzled look. "You had no way to know if your team had returned to Suna, or if they had returned here. By the time you woke up and got back to Suna, they most likely would have already left to return home, and then we'd have a crisis over finding you. You are important, but don't let it go to your head."

A frown came to Tsunade's face as she watched Naruto's grab his stomach.

"Naruto it's not just because of the Kyuubi. You have a lot of people who care about you. Konoha Shinobi don't leave their comrades behind."

A large smile appeared on Naruto's face.

"Like I was worried at all! You wouldn't know to do without me, Baa-Chan!"

Tsunade's eyebrow started to twitch.

"Don't call me baa-chan!" yelled Tsunade in frustration.

"Bah whatever Baa-chan," Naruto nonchalantly said as he left the Hokage's office, "I'm going to go get some Ichiraku's! Later!"

Tsunade sighed for the umpteenth time in the past hour. 'That kid is going to be an amazing hokage.'

* * *

Naruto was walking to Ichiraku's, hands behind his head, contemplating everything he had learned.

'So magic could be real, I shouldn't wear my headband next time I do my ultimate technique, there could have been a great demon guy who got a hexagon of strength, Baa-Chan has a lot of extra desks, pops probably wasn't a crazy old guy, and whoever trained those birds is amazing.'

Naruto's thoughts continued as he arrived at his favorite restaurant, he started to enter, when suddenly he stopped.

'If pops was telling the truth, it means something bad is going to happen.' Naruto's eyes widened. 'Could it be the red haired guy he was talking about? The one where history stopped?'

Naruto turned around and started to walk away from Ichiraku's. 'The king of demons would be stronger than other demons, right? If the red hair guy is stronger than him, how strong is he? ' Naruto broke out into a sprint, carefully dodging out of the way of civilians and shinobi alike. 'If the king of demons is stronger than other demons, he could be stronger than the Kyuubi.'

* * *

Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were walking towards Yakiniku Q for a relaxing post-training meal. The three had just finished a new form of stealth training, assisting Tora the cat to escape from the new gennin, and not getting caught by the frustrated team, as well as ANBU trying to prevent them from sabotaging the gennin.

"Hey Hinata, did you hear Naruto is back in town?" said Kiba with a sly grin on his face, "Who am I kidding? You probably knew the second he stepped back in town!"

Hinata slapped Kiba with the back of her hand, as she looked at the ground.

"K-Kiba-kun! I stopped following N-n-n," Hinata took a deep breath, "I stopped follow him a long time ago."

Kiba let out a loud laugh. "Oh we know, we know. In other news, I've decided to start working with only ninja cats!" Kiba chuckled at his own joke.

"Kiba-san, it would be wise for you to stop antagonizing our teammate."

Kiba turned towards Shino with a look of shock on his face.

"Shino? When did you get here? I didn't even see ya."

Shino fell to the ground on his hands and knees. 'It happened again. Why can't they see me?'

Hinata stopped and patted Shino on the back and glared at Kiba, whom let out a nervous chuckle.

"I was just kidding pal, I knew you were here the entire time! Hey look there's Ichiraku's" Kiba frantically said as he tried to change the subject. "And look that's Naruto!"

"N-N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata shot up straight and slowly turned towards Ichiraku's.

The members of team 8 watched as Naruto started to enter his favorite restaurant, but suddenly he paused.

"Huh, why is he just standing there?"

"It seems his thinking about something Kiba-san."

"Naruto thinking about something? That's rich!"

"Ah K-Kiba-kun that's not nice!"

"It's true! Next thing you know, you'll tell me he doesn't even eat at Ichiraku's anymore!"

Team 8 watched as Naruto turned around and started running away from his favorite restaurant.

Kiba's jaw dropped, Shino's glasses almost fell off, and Hinata looked like she had just witnessed blasphemy.

Kiba fell to the ground and shouted at the sky, "What have I done? I've doomed us all!"

"Kiba-san, this is most likely a coincidence. There is nothing to be worried about, right Hinata-san?" Shino turned towards Hinata as he spoke, but saw an empty spot where his friend had been. "Hinata-san?"

Kiba and Shino looked around and saw Hinata hiding behind a large pole, motioning them to follow. The two looked at each other and looked back at Hinata, who was now blending into a crowd of people to follow her crush.

"Shino, this is it. The rumored Naruto hunt." Kiba said with excitement. "No one is going to believe we got to be a part of one of Hinata's adventures!"

Shino looked at his friend and nodded his head. "I'll make sure my Kikaichu record everything."

The pair rushed towards their teammate's last known location.

* * *

It had taken two hours, seventeen substitution jutsus, five changes of camouflage, and a destroyed cabbage cart to follow Naruto without being seen. Team 8 were currently watching Naruto from behind a fountain, trying to stifle their heaving breathing. Naruto had been running around the village looking for something, but what it was, no one knew.

Kiba looked at his friends and started to let out a breath, but was stopped by a single glare from Hinata.

'I regret doing this. How in the world has Hinata done this for so long? I'm a Chunin for cryin' out loud! When I get my hands on Naruto I'm gonna wr-' Kiba's thoughts were interrupted by a nudge from Shino, who pointed towards Naruto.

Team 8 watched closely as a look of realization appeared on Naruto's face and he entered a building.

Shino started to move towards the building when he was pulled back by Hinata. He shot her a confused glance. She retorted by pointing at the sign above the doorway.

Library.

Uzumaki Naruto had left Ichiraku's to go to a library.

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino fainted.

* * *

Naruto slowly blinked as he scanned the library. It was much larger than he thought it would be.

'Okay so how in the world am I supposed to find what I need?' thought Naruto as he looked around the building. He was completely overwhelmed by the sight of all the books.

"Gah! I'll never find what I need at this rate. This was poin-"

Naruto was cut off as an elderly woman placed her hand over his mouth. She pointed at a sign which read; please be quiet and courteous to others. The woman moved her hand away from Naruto's mouth

Naruto blushed and started to scratch his head.

"Sor-," Naruto's loud apology was cut off again as the elderly woman pointed to a different sign that showed a picture of a stick figure getting its tongue ripped out. Naruto chuckled nervously and turned back to the Elderly woman.

"Sorry, but this is my first time in a library. I need some help looking for information about a powerful red haired man from an old legend," whispered Naruto.

The old lady smiled at Naruto and pointed towards the ancient history section.

"The best I can do is lead you to the general area. Without a name I can't do much. However feel free to use any Ninjutsu to help with your research, as long as it is quiet and doesn't disturb others."

Naruto smiled and thanked the old woman and began his search for information of the red haired man.

* * *

A growl of frustration entered the air as Naruto closed yet another book. He had spent three hours looking for clues on this man, and had found nothing!

'If only I had some way to look at multiple books. Like a. Clone.'

A loud slap echoed throughout the library, followed by a quiet poof.

Naruto smiled at his five clones, all with matching red marks on their foreheads.

The six Narutos looked at each other and nodded. This would definitely help.

* * *

Another hour had passed, and Naruto was beginning to lose hope.

'Maybe I was wrong, and there is nothing to worry about. This was probably all just a legend made up by a craz-' Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of himself giving out a victory cheer, which was followed by a thud, a poof, and the sound of a book hitting a table.

Naruto turned his head and saw a book laying open on a table, with a shuriken embedded on the chair behind the table. Naruto stood up, and walked towards the book, and read the title of the chapter; The Red Haired Menace, The Uzumaki Clan.

'Uzumaki Clan? Could I have a? No that's not possible. They would have told me.'

Naruto sat down at the book and started to read.

* * *

Naruto had been studying at the Library for three days. Ever since he found the book about the Uzumaki clan, he had been able to find history and lore everywhere in the Library.

For these short few days, Naruto had devised a short schedule. First thing in the morning, he would have breakfast and then read about Uzumaki history. After a couple of hours, he would then move on to lore and legend about his clan. When it came time for lunch, he would eat at Ichiraku's and use it as a time to reflect on what he read, something he believed would make Jiraiya proud. After he finished lunch, he would return to the library and spend the rest of his time reading about the ancient history of the land and his family. After dinner, he would spend time with the books he had read and search for any connections. What he had found shocked him.

He had a family.

Naruto's eyes turned downwards.

'Well I used to have a family before they were killed.'

Naruto stood up waved goodbye to the old librarian, and headed towards Ichiraku's for lunch.

What Naruto had learned was painful to him, but it enlightened him. He was hurt that no one had told him about his family. He felt utterly betrayed.

'Shouldn't I have known? Everyone deserves a family,' Naruto thought as a frown appeared on his face.

Naruto learned that his family, the Uzumaki Clan, were a powerful family that were related to the Senju Clan. They were specialists in the art of sealing, and became so proficient at it that they were destroyed. Along with this specialization came their longevity, immense chakra, and powerful healing abilities.

The frown on Naruto's face deepened as he recalled the legends of a darker history of his clan. From what he had read, Naruto learned that his clan had created powerful masks. These masks could do nearly anything, from turning the wearer invisible, to taking control of the Shinigami. According to his clan's legend, the fascination of masks started with a red haired mask salesman, in a time long before shinobi.

Naruto let out a snort at his worry that the red haired man was dangerous. The man was said to have strange powers over time, but was also a renowned pacifist. The true terror is what his clan had helped create.

Delving into the history of this mask man, Naruto had learned of a time where powerful magics had been used to bind spirits and create powerful hexes. This mask had absorbed so much power, that whoever donned the mask would be given incredible power. The legend said the mask would be able to grant any wish the wearer wanted. However, this power was just as evil and wicked as it was powerful. Whoever put on the mask was doomed to be dominated by it, until they were merely a puppet.

It was the greatest work of the ancestors of the Uzumaki, and it was their downfall. The power of the mask nearly destroyed the tribe, leaving only a handful. These handful dedicated their lives to preventing their creation from falling into the wrong hands. Alas, their efforts were futile.

The mask salesman was one of many protectors of the mask, and his failure to protect it nearly doomed the world.

Naruto's research showed that the red haired man failed to protect the mask, and allowed it to fall into the hands of a child. A child which became consumed with rage at the betrayal of his friends. The child nearly caused the moon to crash into the world, but was stopped by a boy with the power of a god. With this last failure, the red haired man left to hide the mask in the world, as he was unable to destroy it, due to its power and his love of masks.

After the red haired man died, it went to a young member of his family, the first of the ancient Uzumaki. Tasked with protecting the mask, the new family dedicated their lives to discovering how the mask worked.

Generations passed, and the Uzumaki made a discovery. By using magic with special types of writing, they could infuse objects with power, or suppress power. The Uzumaki used their newly found power to attempt to destroy the mask.

They failed.

Naruto sat down at Ichiraku's as he reflected on the terrifying past of his ancestors.

The attempts to destroy the mask resulted in the death of tens of thousands. The Mask used the sealing magics of the ancient Uzumaki to give itself its own form. This form reaped havoc on several small towns and villages for three days. The last members of the Uzumaki made an alliance with a now extinct race to stop the rampage caused by the mask. The two families worked hard and fast to prevent the mask from attacking a large city, ruled by a powerful royal family. With their efforts combined, the mask was stopped before hundreds of thousands could perish.

'If the story ended here, it wouldn't be so horrifying,' thought Naruto as he broke apart his chopsticks.

As punishment for unleashing the terror of the mask, the ruling family banished the ancient Uzumaki and their allies. At this point, Naruto found millennia of Uzumaki history missing. His research showed that the next sighting of the Uzumaki was during the time of the Sage of Six paths.

The last Uzumaki woman was tasked with finding a way to hide the mask. Fearing that the mask would be found and destroy once more, she asked the legendary sage for help. The sage was amazed at the woman's dedication to stop her family's ultimate failure.

Over time, the two were able to use powerful magic and Jutsu to hide the mask among other ancient Uzumaki creations. The magic used rendered the mask invisible and intangible to all except those who wielded the power of the gods.

'Just like what pops said the temple was protected by,' Thought Naruto as he finished his seventh bowl of ramen.

After the time it took for the two to hide the mask, it is said they fell in love. The two were joined, and produced two sons, the precursors of the Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki clans. The sons of the sage started a feud that lasted until the fight between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. Aside from the feud, the Senju clan produced the Uzumaki clan. The modern Uzumaki clan inherited the sage's wife's ability for sealing, and were assigned to ensure no one would awaken the evil that their ancestors had wrought.

As time passed, however, the clan had forgotten about the reality mask, using the story to scare children into doing their chores.

Naruto was thankful for this though, the simple children's tale led him to look at the history of the sage and helped him with the revelation of his clan. Without the mask being forgotten, he would have never found the link. The second he found the connection, legends of the ancient world joined together to show part of the story of his people.

Naruto paid his bill.

'If I can see the temple, I should be able to see this mask. I need to become powerful enough to destroy it. Maybe learning magic will help.'

Naruto stood up and turned to leave

'I don't know how Old Man Hakkai couldn't find this. It seemed so easy to find. Maybe he can't leave the temple.'

Naruto pushed aside the curtain to Ichiraku's, and came face to face with a pair of green eyes. In his peripheral vision, he could see a head of pink hair, and at least three other people. Naruto gulped.

"Hi Sakura-Chan."

* * *

A/N 2: Hope you enjoyed. Did you find the hidden shout out? You did/didn't? That's amazing/too bad. You should brag about it/read the story again and find it.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: WHAAAAAT? ANOTHER CHAPTER WITHIN 2 WEEKS? WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO? I'm not sure. I just had a lot of free time this week so I was able to get this out. The next chapter is most likely three or more weeks away, unfortunately. However, I plan on spending as much time as possible on it to ensure it will be of the highest quality. Also known as me missing obvious mistakes once again and then fixing them after it's too late.

ANYWAYS, thanks for the reviews, they really keep me motivated to keep going, and it's always nice to hear y'alls opinions. Yes I did just use y'all in text form. Go team.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or any other series y'all think I do. I do however own a rather cup. It's useful for holding all kinds of liquids!

* * *

There was a somber mood as Kakashi, Sakura, and Team 9 walked through Konoha's gates. The supposed death of a close friend still on their minds.

Kakashi slowly lead the group through the village, Icha Icha book in hand. The observant would see, to their shock, that Kakashi wasn't even reading the book. He merely had it open to a random page as he contemplated his failure of losing yet another student.

Sakura walked behind her sensei, and next to Team Nine's only female member, Tenten. Sakura's eyes were slightly puffy from the tears she had been shedding over her teammate, while Tenten did her best to console the poor girl.

Behind the two women were Gai and Lee. The dynamic duo were surprisingly quiet, at least compared to their usual selves. The two were discussing new ways to go faster to help prevent casualties.

In the rear of the group was a downtrodden Neji. However, he was upset for a different reason. Naruto had been a great friend, of course, but Neji was worried how is cousin would take the news that her not-so-secret crush had perished.

Looking up from his book, Kakashi saw that they were just about to arrive at the Hokage's Tower. With a sigh, he stopped walking and closed his book. Peeking behind himself, he saw the confused looks on his fellow shinobi.

"Why don't you all get something to eat?" Kakashi said with a slight smile. "While you eat, I will go and turn in our mission report and tell Tsunade what has happened."

The rest of the group immediately paled. They had forgotten they would have to tell Tsunade that yet another person she loved had died.

"That is wise my eternal rival," stated Gai as he stroked his chin. "It would be very unyouthful to let our cute little students deal with the rage of our leader."

Gai placed his left hand on his hip, and pointed at Kakashi.

"I will go with you to make sure that you make it out in once piece. If I fail, I shall do five thousand one finger pushups!"

Gai raised his right thumb, and let out a blinding smile.

Rock Lee had a large amount of tears falling from his eyes as he was writing in a notebook.

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

The two green spandex clad men embraced, as a sunset appeared behind them. The rest of the group had looks of disgust on their faces.

Kakashi cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Now how about you all go and enjoy some Ichiraku's in his memory. I'm sure he'd like that," Kakashi said in a calm voice.

Everyone in the group had downcast looks, but mumbled in agreement, and started to walk towards Ichiraku's.

Kakashi looked at the large building behind him, and sighed again as he started to slowly shuffle his way towards his imminent death.

As he entered the lobby, he felt a sudden coldness, as if all the life was being sucked out of him. Kakashi nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking at the hand, he immediately recognized the green suit of his friend.

"Come one Kakashi you have to snap out of it. Don't let fear stop you from being as youthful as we both know you should be!" Gai whispered.

With a slight smile on his face, Kakashi thanked Gai and headed towards the stairs, walking towards Tsunades office with a renewed vigor.

'I can do this,' thought Kakashi, 'It's just a mission report. Nothing bad is going to happen. Just standard procedure. Nothing will go wr-'

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Shizune walking towards them with a bottle of sake in one arm and a pile of papers in the other. Upon seeing the one eyed jonin and his spandex clad friend, Shizune did her best to wave them over.

Seeing the look of dread on the two jonin's faces caused Shizune to raise an eyebrow.

"Hey guys!" Shizune said with a bit of confusion, "Tsunade has been waiting for your team for a while. You all were supposed to be back yesterday. Did something happen?"

Upon hearing her question, Kakashi's face fell. Tsunade had been waiting for them, and they were late. Kakashi's mind was bombarded with images of himself being turned into a heaping mess of limbs and organs in the corner of a morgue.

Ignoring Shizune, Kakashi slowly walked towards the door to Tsunade's office. His hand shakily grabbed the door handle, and opened the door. Looking in, he saw Tsunade looking down at a piece of paper with a frustrated look on her face.

'Okay, this is good. She is distracted. If I turn around now I ca-'

"Hokage-sama you are looking most youthful today!"

Kakashi let out a mental barrage of curses.

Tsunade looked up from the note and stared at the duo.

"Ah, Gai, Kakashi, it's nice that you finally decided to come back." Tsunade said with a teasing tone.

Kakashi let out a dry chuckle.

"Now where is the rest of the team? They are supposed to be here as well."

"We had been traveling for several days without any real food, so Gai and myself decided to let them go out to Ichiraku's." Said Kakashi with a nervous smile.

Tsunade slowly blinked, and had a slight smile on her face.

"Oh, Ichiraku's? I bet Naruto is already there eating his fifteenth bowl. God knows that boy is like a vacuum when it comes to that stuff."

Kakashi and Gai forced themselves to laugh.

"Yes that boy certainly uses his power of youth to conquer any ramen challenge that would dare face him!"

"Ha yeah, my student sure did enjoy ramen."

Tsunade smiled at the two sweating jonin.

"And how did he do on his first mission back in Konoha?"

Kakashi's face had a look of horror, although you couldn't tell through his mask.

"Well, uh. He did, um. He did okay," Kakashi struggled to say, "I think he needed to uh, work on using his head, and he. And he."

Kakashi let out a sigh and looked at Tsunade.

"He died rushing a member of Akatsuki who was known for using explosive techniques."

Kakashi closed his eye and waited for Tsunade's outburst that would destroy everything he knew and loved. And he waited. And waited. A good ten seconds went by, and he finally heard a shuffle from Tsunade.

Opening his eyes, he saw Tsunade staring at him with her eyebrows raised in what seemed to be amusement.

"I see Kakashi. Well I hate to break it to you, but Naruto isn't dead."

'Oh great, She's in denial.' Kakashi thought.

"Hokage-sama, he is not alive. We were late as we spent two days searching for him and his body on the way back. We didn't find anything, just ash and burnt trees from the explosion that killed him."

Tsunade stood up from her desk, scooting her chair back with a slight screech as the chair scraped the wooden floor of the office. Kakashi flinched at the noise.

"Kakashi, Naruto isn't dead. He showed up in the village three days ago."

Kakashi and Gai's eyes widened.

"He made the right choice and returned to Konoha to inform us of what happened, instead of risking us not knowing he was fine and causing a huge panic at his death. In fact, he is probably eating at Ichiraku's right now."

Kakashi let out a breath and smiled.

'So he was fine this entire time, and is enjoying some Ichiraku's. Which is where I sent our team to go eat.' Kakashi's eye widened in shock once more. 'And they don't know he is alive. And Sakura is there.'

"This isn't good."

* * *

Sakura and Team 9 walked to Ichiraku's silently, all thinking about their lost friend. As they neared the restaurant, Neji broke the silence.

"Well I haven't heard Tsunade-Sama yet, so I assume our sensei's are still alive."

The rest of the group chuckled.

"Oh Tsunade-Sensei wouldn't kill them, she'd just beat them to a pulp and then heal them again." Sakura said jokingly as she started to walk into Ichiraku's

As she walked forward, the curtain opened, and stared at a face she thought she'd never see again.

"Hi Sakura-Chan."

Sakura looked at the source of the voice, and started to shake when she recognized her supposedly deceased teammate.

"Y-y-you you you're alive?" Sakura stuttered out.

Naruto looked at Sakura and scratched the back of his head.

"Well yeah I'm alive, I've been in Konoha for the past three days!" Naruto exclaimed.

Naruto started to say something, when he looked at Sakura and Team 9. After a couple of seconds of silence, Naruto's face paled.

"You guys thought I died in that explosion. And you've been worried. Oh God I'm so sorry!" Naruto apologized while giving a short bow.

Sakura's face contorted in rage. "You idiot! We thought we lost you! One of our close friends! And you had just gotten back from your training!" Sakura howled. She took a step forward, and grabbed Naruto's jacket, while Team 9 stepped backwards, not wanting to get in the way of the enraged pinkette.

"I thought that our family was destroyed again. First Sasuke-kun, and now you!" Sakura growled as she pulled Naruto closer.

Naruto closed his eyes waiting for Sakura to strike him. However, he was surprised when he felt Sakura embracing him.

"I can't lose you. You and Kakashi-sensei mean the world to me." Sakura said as tears started to come to her eyes.

Naruto let out a nervous chuckle as he attempted to console the now crying girl.

"Ah if I knew all I had to do was fake my death to finally get this close to you, I'd have done this years ago," Naruto jested.

Sakura let out a small giggle as she pulled out of the hug. "You're still an idiot."

"This is great and all," said Neji interrupting the moment between the two, "but what happened Naruto? How did you survive the explosion?"

Naruto flinched. "Ah well, you know I have a healing factor and that saved me, and then after I woke up, I came back to Konoha!"

The members of Team 9 looked at each other, and Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"But Naruto, an explosion like that could break even the strongest healing factor," Tenten stated quizzically. "That's why I only use fake exploding tags when sparing, and why practicing anything with that kind of fire power must be done on a training ground outside the village."

"Uh well I guess my healing was too much for it –tebayo," Naruto nervously chortled. "I guess I'm that awesome!"

"Ah! Naruto-kun must have had some type of armor or defensive technique like Gaara-kun!" Lee said excitedly. "Naruto-kun! Would you teach me this technique? This sounds like a great way to increase our flames of youth!"

"Sorry Bushy Brows, but I can't teach it to you, or tell you how I survived it was classified by Baa-chan."

Neji's eyes narrowed as he watched Naruto speak. Being a Hyuuga, who were masters of observation, he was able to tell that Naruto was lying by the slight downward curve of the right side of his mouth he gave before he started to speak. That is, if his cousin's lessons in Naruto observing were true. But what would he have to hide?

"Well is there anything you can tell us? You put us through a lot of trouble. You owe us that much," Sakura asked in a slightly accusing tone.

A look of contemplation arose on Naruto's face. He pulled himself from his musings after a few seconds and smiled.

"All I can tell you is that there are some strange things happening, and I had just the luck to stumble upon them. But I can handle it because I'm going to be the strongest Shinobi ever –tebayo!" ranted Naruto.

Neji frowned as he watched Naruto put on a brave face for his friends. While it was admirable, Neji wished he could help Naruto with whatever was troubling him. His thoughts were interrupted as Naruto started to walk past them.

"Now I'd love to stay and chat, but I have some stuff to do!"

Naruto made it three steps before he was pulled back by Sakura.

"What do you mean? You've been presumed dead for almost a week, and now that we see you you're leaving?" Sakura angrily questioned.

"Yeah it has to do with some of the classified stuff. Baa-Chan has had me working on it while waiting for you all to return," Naruto smoothly lied.

A sigh of defeat escaped Sakura's mouth as she let him go. "Alright fine, but before you leave, I wanted to let you know that we have a location of where Sasuke-kun is going to be in ten days. I'm going to see if Tsunade will let us go and bring him back."

Naruto looked at Sakura with a look of confusion.

"Yeah that's great Sakura, but I'm not sure if that is what we should focus on right now."

Sakura gasped. Had her teammate forgotten about his promise? Was he abandoning her? What had happened?

"Naruto what is the meaning of this? Do you not want Sasuke-kun back?" Sakura yelled accusingly.

Naruto raised his hands in defense at the medical ninja.

"I do want him back. He is my best friend, but I learned some things while I was gone," Naruto said as he attempted to diffuse the situation before there would be any major property damage.

His face turned dark and he looked away from Sakura and Team 9.

"There is something out there that I am responsible for, and if I don't stop it, well, I'm not sure what will happen." Naruto turned to face them, a look of seriousness mixed with desperation on his face. "All I know is that if I can't find out how to stop it, and an evil person finds it, it will be my fault for the deaths of many."

Naruto's expression then changed to that of fortitude.

"That is why I will become more powerful than ever. I'll make sure I can stop it and save everyone -tebayo!"

Sakura and Team 9 looked slightly dismayed at his words, but reassured at his confidence.

"Alright, but if you have any trouble, please get some help," Sakura said in a defeated tone. "I don't want you to end up being practice for one of my new healing jutsus"

Naruto snorted, and started to walk away.

"Yeah, yeah, if anything happens I'll get Ero-Sennin to help me. See you guys later!"

Sakura and team 9 shouted their goodbyes as he walked away to an unknown destination. A silence fell over the group as they contemplated how different Naruto seemed. Whatever happened had truly frightened Naruto if he would turn away from Sasuke.

* * *

Naruto sat down in the library, and put his palm in his face.

'Gah those were terrible lies! Ugh, and I probably made them think the world is going to end!' thought Naruto in anguish. 'I should have just told them, they probably would have believed me. And why would I worry them about that? Only a few people should be able to find it, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knows about the mask.'

Naruto grumbled in frustration as one of his clones handed him a book on Uzumaki historical sites.

'Maybe I should try and go and find Sasuke, it would be a nice break.'

* * *

Tsunade rubbed her temples as she processed the information given to her by Gai and Kakshi, as well as Sakura and Team 9, who were called in by ANBU after their lunch. The two informed her of Naruto's loss of control, and his recklessness, as well as describing the effects it had upon those in Suna, who cared much for the boy that saved their leader. The village had requested to be informed as soon as anything was found out about Naruto. The duo then told her how two members from Akatsuki had attacked an entire village, just to get the Jinchuuriki, signifying that they were ready to execute whatever nefarious plans they had. If this wasn't bad enough, there were apparently sleeper agents of Akatsuki in the different villages. Tsunade groaned as she thought of who to assign to searching for these traitors.

Fortunately, there was also good news. Not only had her protégé been able to remove a highly advanced toxin from the Kazekage's brother, but she had defeated a member of Akatsuki, and got information about the rogue Sannin Orochimaru. If everything works out, Team 7 would be whole once again after a group was sent to Tenchi Bridge in ten days.

Tsunade sucked her teeth as she thought about Naruto's described change in behavior. Whatever he had found in the library must have frightened him, and it revolved around this strange temple and Hakkai person.

'I'll have to get Jiraiya to speak with him before they leave for the bridge to get him back in the game.' Tsunade linked together her fingers, and rested her forehead on her linked hands. 'But I need someone to check out this temple area, and a Sharingan would be very useful.'

Tsunade shot up in her chair, and looked around the empty room. Not seeing her assistant Shizune, she yelled out into the hallway. "Shizune! Bring me some sake! Also see if the ANBU Captain is in the village!"

* * *

Naruto grumbled at the beeping noise assaulting his ears. Everything had been going so nicely! He had just became Hokage and got free ramen for life from every ramen restaurant in the world! And now this loud beeping was ruining everything.

Lashing out at where the noise was coming from, Naruto heard a loud crash, and felt a sharp pain in his hand.

Opening his eyes, Naruto saw that he was no longer seated in the Hokage's tower, but rather he was in his apartment and had pieces of plastic stuck in his hand from destroying his clock. With a grumble, Naruto quickly removed the invasive plastic and got out of his bed.

'Man I'm so close to finding out where the mask is. The books last night even mentioned a mask storage house.'

After a quick shower, Naruto ate a left over instant ramen, and headed down the stairs from his apartment with a yawn. As he stepped off the last step, he felt a strange resistance to his step, and heard a snap. Naruto's eyes widened as he quickly rolled away from the noise as a dozen Kunai struck the wall he would have been standing. Standing up in a crouch, Naruto took out a kunai from his pouch, and created two shadow clones. The two clones nodded at Naruto and leaped onto the rooftops of Konoha, one ran to the Hokage's tower, while the other lied in wait for the attacker.

Scanning the area around his apartment, Naruto saw a glint of light on the roof of the building across from him. Infusing chakra into his legs, Naruto leapt up onto the roof.

On the roof Naruto saw someone six meters away from next to a water tower and was writing on something, or at least he hoped that's what the arm movement was.

"Hey have you see-"

Naruto was interrupted as the person turned around, revealing himself as a pale teenage boy, with black hair and eyes. The boy had incredibly pale skin, and was wearing a black belly shirt, black ANBU pants, and black ninja sandals. In his hands he was holding a painting of a tiger.

Naruto eyed the painting cautiously as he stepped towards the person. The second his foot hit the ground, the painting removed itself from the paper and leapt towards him.

'Ok I don't have time for this. Saving the world is slightly more important than dealing with this jerk.'

Naruto threw his kunai through the ink tiger, and took out another kunai in his left hand. With his now free right hand, he opened it up and started to channel chakra in the air.

The pale boy lowered the paper, and looked at Naruto with a completely neutral face, even though there was now a clone helping Naruto create a swirling glowing ball of chakra.

Wasting no time, the pale boy quick started to draw a lion, as Naruto started to dash towards him. Naruto was halfway to the pale boy, when the lion jumped from the paper. Not caring about the lion, Naruto threw the kunai in his left hand through it, and thrust the spiraling sphere at him.

The pale boy watched Naruto with a confused look, as he watched Naruto shove the sphere into his stomach.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled.

The Rasengan drilled into the would-be assassin, and sent him flying backwards into the water tower. Naruto made another clone and sent him to retrieve the boy.

'He better be happy I merely knocked him out. I'll let the ANBU deal with him. I need to get to studying.'

* * *

Tsunade looked at the pale boy who was currently unconscious in a hospital bed. She turned to look at a man who was wearing gray ANBU armor, and had a mask on that resembled a cat.

"So you want this scum, who attacked Naruto, to go with me and Sakura to meet up with a traitor within Orochimaru's ranks in an attempt to bring back the traitor Sasuke?" asked the Anbu.

"Yes pretty much. And while you are assigned to this team, you will temporarily be taken out of your position of ANBU Captain," Tsunade replied nonchalantly. "You will also need a new name. It won't be good to have your team calling you cat the entire time. Take off your mask."

The Anbu Captain reached up and removed his mask, revealing black, almond-shaped eyes, and a happuri-style forehead protector. He had a stoic look on his face as he thought about his upcoming mission.

Tsunade drew close to the Captain, put a finger on her chin and started staring at his face. She let out a small laugh when she saw a slight tint of red come to the Captain's face.

"Your name is Yamato," Tsunade said in a matter-of-fact voice. "I will inform Sakura and Naruto that you will all be leaving in three days' time to head to Tenchi Bridge."

Yamato had a slightly absent look as he thought of his new name, and mentally prepared him for what could be a very difficult mission.

"Hokage-Sama?"

"What is it Yamato?"

"I would like to meet up with my new team today, and get to know them. I trust that isn't a problem?"

Tsunade froze for a couple of seconds before she responded.

"I believe you can meet with Sakura, and Sai," Tsunade stated as she pointed at the pale boy in the bed, "However I believe Naruto has some very heavy things on his mind that he needs to speak with Jiraiya about before he is truly able to focus on a new team, if that makes sense."

Yamato pondered the situation, and understood what Tsunade meant. If Naruto was shaken up about something to the point of defaulting to an A-ranked Jutsu, it would not be wise to bring him near his attacker so soon. Along with that, Jiraiya should be able to calm him down for the foreseeable future, rather than the single day that he thought he would get out of Naruto.

"Alright Hokage-Sama, I shall go introduce myself as Yamato, temporary leader of Team 7. If at all possibly, I would like if our team could have at least a little bonding time, even if it means we delay leaving by a couple of hours."

Tsunade nodded in affirmation, "That can be arranged. Now go and get everything ready. You are dismissed."

With a quick bow, the newly christened Yamato fled through the nearest window.

'Why don't they use doors like normal people?'

* * *

A/N 2: I hope you all enjoyed THIS WEEKS EXCITING EPISODE OF DRAGON PIECE SHIPPUDEN: OCARINA OF THE LOST ARK. Not sure where I got Indiana Jones from, but whatever. Please review if you liked the story! Or don't. I'm not your boss. Yet.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Yeah I know it hasn't been 3 weeks. Stuff happened, I had time, and POOF. New chapter. I will admit it was rather fun to write this one, and I'm fairly certain I can look back on it without cringing too much. Hopefully. Well, I guess that's all for this A/N. OH WAIT. Yeah, next chapter is definitely going to be a while. Please try not to lynch me over the wait.

Oh yeah, almost forgot my obligatory "beg for reviews" part. Yeah do that. It's cool.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or pretty much anything else. If I did, I'd be on the news after I spent my fortune on banana bread.

* * *

There are many occasions on which the ninja of Konoha knew to avoid their dear leader. The most frequent one is when the honorable Hokage had lots of paperwork, and no sake. Another case is whenever Tsunade wins any type of gambling game. However, right now people were avoiding Tsunade's office for a completely different reason. Tonight, she was speaking with her old team mate, Jiraiya, about her surrogate grandson, Naruto.

Having Tsunade speak with Jiraiya was bad enough by itself. Numerous cases of property damage due to human projectile, as well as shouting matches that could be heard from the other side of the country. But when you bring in their favorite blonde knucklehead? You have a deafening silence fueled by two differing opinions on how to raise the boy, and when the argument starts, there would be enough collateral damage to feed legends for eons.

At least that's what the general public would let you believe. In truth, their actions were much more mundane.

* * *

'Oh man this is great,' thought Jiraiya with a perfectly straight face. 'Not only is she worried about Naruto, but she's doing subtle things to try and guilt me into helping the kid.'

Jiraiya forced away a perverted giggle as he watched Tsunade slightly pout and barely stick out her chest.

'I knew acting so distant while I was in the village was a good idea.'

Seeing Tsunade's mouth move, Jiraiya nodded his head while he remained focused on the two magnificent fleshy orbs that were in his peripheral vision, looking away only to fill up Tsunade's sake glass on the small table between them.

Jiraiya and Tsunade had been doing this dance, or in Tsunade's case, war of attrition, for a little over two hours. Tsunade was attempting to get Jiraiya to reveal information about Naruto that would be useful for the Hokage to know.

'I'm not even sure why she needs so much blackmail on the poor kid,' thought Jiraiya. 'However I'm pretty sure he won't mind, especially with what I'm getting out of it.'

Over the course of their conversation, Jiraiya had been giving just enough information to Tsunade to crave more, and thus, Tsunade continued her small flirtations.

"While this has been lovely, there is an actual reason I called you here."

Jiraiya, who was still on autopilot as he fantasized about his teammates breasts, mumbled out an agreement.

With a twitching eyebrow, Tsunade punched Jiraiya in the face with such force that he broke through the wall behind him. As he flew through the air, Tsunade swore that she heard an upset sigh, rather than a yelp of pain, escape from Jiraiya's mouth.

Dusting himself off, Jiraiya stood up and walked back to his seat.

"Okay so what did you want to speak about Tsunade-Hime?"

"Well Naruto has been acting rather strange, and I'd like you to check on him and find out what's worrying him."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this. Naruto had never seemed worried before. Usually he'd just belt out that he'd become stronger than his problems and move on, even when faced against impossible odds. Of course Jiraiya knew the kid was worried about things, but they never truly affected how he acted.

"What do you mean he has been acting strange, did something happen?"

Tsunade brought her cup of sake to her mouth, and took a small drink. There was a moment of silence as Tsunade pulled together her thoughts.

"It all started on his mission to Suna. Everything was fine until the point where he nearly lost control of the Kyuubi, and was nearly died to an explosive attack from an Akatasuki member."

There was a loud scraping sound that penetrated the odd quietness of the room. Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and saw that the armrest of the chair he was sitting in now had large gouges scratched into it. Forcing herself to look away from the display of anger, Tsunade continued her story.

"He claimed that he was propelled into a temple that was hidden from the view of those deemed 'unworthy.'" Tsunade paused as the sound of a pencil etching on paper filled the room. "Inside this temple was an ancient man named Hakkai, and this man told Naruto that he believed he was destined for something, and he would need to return."

The room was filled with silence as Jiraiya finished writing notes about Naruto's experience with the strange old man. When he finished, Jiraiya looked at Tsunade with a puzzled expression on his face.

"That is a rather strange story, but there is obviously more to it that Naruto hasn't told you. I assume you are sending a team to scout out this temple?"

Tsunade nodded. "I am going to send Kakashi and Team Kurenai to the location Naruto gave us. I figure having two of the great Dojutsu and three experienced trackers would be useful, although if what Naruto said is true, there may be a chance that some force we have never faced is protecting this place."

"Oh? A new force? Do you think it is some advanced jutsu or lost technique?"

"According to Naruto, the temple is being protected by magic of seven sages who were gifted power from the goddesses of the land."

"Huh. Thought it would be more interesting than that."

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya incredulously.

"Really?" Tsunade said in an annoyed tone. "I bring up the possibility of magic from the gods and you wave it off?"

A snort escaped from Jiraiya. "Oh come on Tsunade-hime. We both can summon talking animals, we know of people with the ability to tear through time and space, and we see these as normal. Ancient magic isn't unfeasible, and is rather tame to what I was expecting. I thought you were going to tell me Naruto found a reason to give up ramen!"

Jiraiya let out a hearty laugh as Tsunade blinked. He had just used the logic she had used against Naruto.

After the toad sage calmed down, he calmly looked at Tsunade.

"And how has he been acting that has you so worried."

"First off, he has been pushing his friends away, always being too busy trying to find out about whatever has been eating at him."

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders slightly. He knew that Naruto was stinted in his relationships due to how he was raised. Being all alone and the village pariah, Naruto didn't really understand the idea of trusting others that much.

"Second," Tsunade started as she looked down at her drink, "he has been spending a lot of time researching in the library of all places, and whatever he has found there has spooked him even more!"

Tsunade looked up from her drink to see that Jiraiya was nowhere in sight, and she felt a slight breeze from an open window.

'Seriously! Why doesn't anyone use a door?!'

* * *

Jiraiya quietly walked through the library at a brisk pace, trying not to draw the ire of the old librarian. Jiraiya shuddered as he recalled the librarian almost carving out his tongue for not being quiet in the library as a child.

After several minutes of searching, he saw a familiar shade of orange in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw the back of Naruto's jacket resting on a chair, but Naruto was out of sight.

Walking forward, Jiraiya looked around the library for any sign of his beloved student, but found nothing. As he neared the chair, he heard a quiet rumbling emanating from it. A small smile came to Jiraiya's face as he saw his beloved student had fallen asleep in the library, and currently was using a book as a pillow.

Jiraiya scanned the table Naruto was using for his work, and saw several books, and what appeared to be lots of notes on what he was researching. Jiraiya picked up the nearest book, and a look of surprise appeared when he read the title; The History and Landmarks of the Uzumaki Clan. He gently put the book back on the table, not wanting to wake his student. Jiraiya looked back at Naruto and saw he had a pencil in hand, and notes underneath his right hand. He slowly raised Naruto's hand, and pulled out the notes.

Holding the notes, Jiraiya stared at them for a good minute.

'This kid has terrible penmanship. Note to self; teach Naruto how to write properly.'

Jiraiya formed a half ram sign with his right hand, and created a shadow clone.

The clone grabbed of the books Naruto had been studying, and made mental notes of what the books were. Jiraiya grabbed the notes strewn about the table. The clone put the books on an empty rack for a librarian to return to their proper places in the library.

The clone came back, and slowly picked up Naruto, and grabbed Naruto's jacket off the back of the chair. Jiraiya started to read through Naruto's notes as he and his clone took Naruto to his home.

'Hm, why is he researching about the Uzumaki masks?'

* * *

A shallow breathing was the only thing heard in the rubble of a once powerful city. The city had been prosperous at one time, the streets filled with people going about their business, while the sound of laughter could be heard from the playing children. In the middle of the rubble was a man kneeling on the ground, surrounded by several people.

The man slowly stood, and those around him took steps back. The man had long flowing blonde hair and was wearing a simple black kimono trimmed in gold. Hidden underneath the kimono, you could see the outlines of a chest plate. The man's face was covered by a blank mask.

Suddenly, one of the people surrounding the man jumped in. The attacker had brown hair and red fang marks on his cheek. The attacker swiped at the blonde with his clawed hands.

The blonde stood still as he was attacked, simply shrugging off the blow. He nonchalantly grabbed the brown haired man by the throat, and let out a grunt, as the brown haired man was covered in red chakra. The brown haired man let out screams of pain as his skin slowly melted off.

A gasp of shock was heard from the group as they watched the brown haired man be slowly eaten by the chakra. The blonde watched as the man decayed in his hands, until the chakra ate even his bones.

"You're a monster."

The blonde turned torwards the voice, and saw a woman with long dark blue hair, with defiance in her lavender eyes. The man slowly started to walk torwards her, as a deep rumble started to emanate from the masked man.

The rumble turned into the laughter of a mad man as he drew near the woman.

"He was a fool to try and control me," the blonde drawled out.

The blonde man reached his hand out towards the woman, who was paralyzed by fear. His arm became encased by red chakra that seemed to distort the air. The chakra around the man's arm was inches away from the woman's face, when a voice cracked out.

"Naruto! Stop! Face me instead!"

Naruto turned and looked at a man with raven hair, and two burning red eyes. Naruto seemed to phase out of existence, and appeared in front of the man, and pinned him to the ground by the throat.

"Gladly," Naruto muttered as he tightened his grip around the red-eyed man's throat.

Naruto watched as the red-eyed man was slowly choked to death. The red-eyed man stopped struggling against his attacker, and instead used his free hand to rip away the blank mask. The red-eyed man's face held a frown as he stared into Naruto's slit red eyes.

The sound of footsteps were heard, and the red-eyed man let out short whimper as he looked at the person rushing to his aid.

Naruto looked back at a woman with pink hair who was rushing in to attack. Letting out a snort, Naruto formed a red and black chakra tail behind him which knocked the pink haired woman into the ground, and seriously burning her arm.

"Pitiful," Naruto said has he watched the red-eyed man's eyes fade into black.

Standing up, Naruto looked around at the remaining people, and let off a feral grin as his body started to pulse and his form started to change.

"I will show you what happens when you challenge a demon."

* * *

Naruto shot up in his bed with a loud gasp from the nightmare. He started to hyperventilate as he looked around, and saw he was no longer in the library, but was rather in his own room. He slowly started to calm himself down, when he noticed there was a faint smell of smoke. He slowly stood up and looked at his new alarm clock that showed it was one in the morning.

Naruto turned, and pushed himself off of his bed, and walked towards his living room, trying to find the source of the smell. He noticed that the light was on, and went on high alert. Scanning the hall, he saw one of his jackets on the floor. He slowly crept towards his jacket, and pulled a kunai from an inside pocket of his vest.

'I guess it's a good thing I'm so messy.'

Stealthily, Naruto walked through his short hallway and peered into his living room. He let out a sigh when he saw the face of his master, smoking a pipe and reading some notes at a table near an open window.

"Ero-sennin? What are you doing here?"

Jiraiya looked up, and smiled at his student.

"Oh a master can't check on his pupil every once and a while? I just wanted to know what you were doing!"

Naruto stared at Jiraiya with a blank look.

"What did Baa-chan want you to talk with me about?"

Jiraiya's face fell at his student's lack of faith in him. Sure, he had been sent to check up on his student, but he would have done it anyways because he cared about Naruto!

"Oh and why can't I visit you on my own?" Jiraiya said as he crossed his arms and turned away. "Bah I shoudn't have even bothered!"

"Ero-sennin, the only thing you would want from me is to use my Sexy Jutsu."

"Stop calling me Ero-Sennin!"

"Never!"

The two bickered back and forth for several minutes, before they both started laughing.

"I missed you Ero-Sennin. Guess after those three years you finally wore off on me," Naruto said with a large smile on his face.

"Likewise kid," Jiraiya happily replied as his expression turned somber, "But you were right Tsunade wanted me to speak with you."

Naruto smiled at the honesty from his master. It was refreshing to have someone speak plainly with him.

"Oh, and what did Baa-chan want?"

"She's worried about how you've been acting lately," Jiraiya said as he took a drag from his pipe.

Naruto started to reply, but was interrupted by Jiraiya.

"And don't try to lie to me, I read through your notes."

Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to sit at a chair across from him. Naruto complied and sat in front of his master, while looking slightly ashamed. Jiraiya saw the minute signals of emotion going across Naruto's face, and sighed.

"I'm impressed with how well you did researching by yourself."

Naruto's face brightened at the praise from Jiraiya.

"Ah, thanks Ero-sennin! I did everything you told me to!"

With a laugh, Jiraiya took out a small outline he created based on Naruto's notes.

"Yeah, I could tell. I would have never thought of using bed time stories to connect the Uzumaki with the banished race. You had quite a stroke of genius there."

Jiraiya watched as a look of hurt came across Naruto's face at the mention of his clan. Before Naruto had a chance to speak, Jiraiya raised his hand, motioning for him to wait.

"I know you feel betrayed by us hiding your clan from you, but you must understand, we did it to protect you."

Naruto started to scowl, and was about to yell at Jiraiya, but was silenced once again.

"As you learned, your clan has done quite a few things to warrant fear from the rest of the world. They were so feared that their rival nations hunted them down to end their power. Now can you imagine what would have happened if they knew there were survivors?"

Naruto's eyes widened. He had never thought of this during his research. He was too obsessed with finding out about Old Man Hakkai's stories to really think about his clan.

"I never thought of it like that Ero-Sennin."

Jiraiya smiled at his student. "Oh I'm not surprised. From what I've read in your notes, you've been rather busy. Now, could you tell me about what happened with this Hakkai person? It's always better to hear the story from the person than to read what they have written down."

Naruto nodded, as he went into his story. He explained how he woke up in the temple, and the short amount of time he spent with the Old Man. Naruto told Jiraiya how worried he was about the red haired man, and his relief that the man was a pacifist who wouldn't harm a fly. Naruto moved on to his discovery of his ancestors, and the world long before chakra. Jiraiya was fascinated by Naruto's discoveries.

The two spoke for hours, as Naruto explained how he found ancient legends linked by children's stories, and the weight he felt by knowing about the accursed mask forged by his ancestors.

Jiraiya mulled over what Hakkai had told Naruto, that Naruto had a great destiny. If what Hakkai said was true, Naruto truly was the child prophesized by the Great Toad Sage.

"What do you think, Ero-Sennin? What should I do?"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto, and studied him. This decision could change everything for better, or for worse. If he told Naruto to not seek out Hakkai, then he could be stopping a destiny set by the goddesses, and doom the world. On the other hand, maybe this Hakkai person wasn't the most reputable person. Naruto said the man seemed pure of heart, but how could he be certain? What if sending Naruto to Hakkai would turn Naruto against humanity?

There was an uncomfortable silence as Jiraiya adjusted himself in his chair and looked out the window at the village he so loved. He had done his best to teach Naruto to strive for peace, to trust in himself, and to seek the truth in the world. Jiraiya closed his eyes as he contemplated the situation. With a sigh, Jiraiya opened his eyes, and looked at Naruto with a smile.

"I believe that you know what you should do, and the choice you make will be the right one, as long as you believe in yourself, and strive for peace," Jiraiya said sagely. "It seems it is time for you to move into the world and to make your mark. I can tell you want to speak with Hakkai again, so I would like you to weigh the consequences of going and not going, and choose for yourself. Know that whatever you choose, I will support you, and will do my best to help you."

Naruto's eyes widened and a large smile broke out.

"Alright Ero-Sennin! I will do my best!" Naruto shouted excitedly, "Old Man Hakkai said that I would know when I needed to return, so I'll think about it until that time happens!"

Jiraiya stood up from his chair with a smile.

"Well I'm glad we had time to talk, but you should probably go to sleep." Jiraiya said as he walked towards the door to leave Naruto's apartment. "You have a mission in about three hours to go find your old teammate. Good luck!"

Naruto stared at the door Jiraiya left through for several minutes.

"I have a mission tomorrow!?"

* * *

A/N 2: Yeah so as I said, this chapter was a lot of fun to write. Jiraiya is probably my favorite character to write. He can either be the hilarious pervert we all know and love, or he can be the serious pervert we all know and love. Maybe I just like writing about perverts. Oh well. Hope y'all enjoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So I'm just going to stop saying how long it's going to take for chapters, as I'm always wrong. I say it will take three weeks, and it takes two. I say it will be a long time for a chapter, and it's barely been a week. Oh well. Opportunity and inspiration have been abounding this week, so you all get this RIGHT NOW. This was a pretty fun one to write, and I hope y'all enjoy it.

Also this chapter makes this story my longest one yet! That's kinda nice. Now all I have to do is hit the 30k mark. Which I will within a couple chapters. At least I think I will.

Also I say also a lot and I'm trying to stop it. Go team.

*Insert a comedic way to beg for reviews*

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, Or any of the references that I make. Pretty sure if I did, Naruto would use a golf club in his fight against every major villain and win in four hits. Get it? Four? I'm a comedic genius.

* * *

A yawn barely escaped Naruto's mouth as he stood at attention in front of Tsunade. His talk with Jiraiya had kept him up all night, and having a mission dropped on him out of nowhere left him little time to sleep. Naruto had clothes to clean, kunai to sharpen, and curses to mutter at his perverted mentor. This left him with three hours of sleep the entirety of the previous night.

"Are we clear Naruto?"

Hearing his name, Naruto's head snapped towards the voice. Staring at a waiting Tsunade, Naruto gulped.

"Uh yeah. Get to the bridge, find the informant, track down Orochimaru, and get Sasuke back. Got it."

There was a loud smack, and Naruto felt a sudden pain on the back of his head. Looking at his pink haired teammate, he scowled.

"Bah I was right about what we're doing Sakura-Chan! Why did you have to hit me?!"

"Because, idiot, we have to meet up with our new teammate and temporary sensei first," Sakura ranted. "And because of you being missing this entire week, we have only two hours in the village to get to know each other!"

Naruto crossed his arms, turned away from Sakura, and started to pout.

"Hmph, it's not my fault I only learned about this mission this morning. You could have had Kakashi-Sensei, or an ANBU to tell me at least!"

Sakura's words started to register in Naruto's head, and he slowly blinked and turned towards his temperamental teammate.

"Wait, you said temporary sensei. What happened?" Naruto said with worry in his voice, "Did Kakashi-Sensei get injured? Did he lose to one of Bushier Brow-Sensei's challenges again?"

Sakura had an inquisitive look on her face as she turned towards Tsunade.

"Yeah Sensei, why isn't Kakashi-sensei here? Did he get injured, or does he not care that we have a chance to find Sasuke-Kun?" Sakura questioned as her anger started to rise.

Naruto looked at Sakura with a look of shock. Was she right? Could Kakashi no longer care about Team 7?

Seeing the two young shinobi starting to anger, Tsunade let out a sigh.

"No, he would love to be here, but I sent him on a different mission two days ago."

The duo let out cries of shock and anger, and were about to start yelling at the perceived injustice, but were instantaneously stopped by a fearsome glare from the buxom blonde.

Tsunade let out a smirk at the effectiveness of her patented glare, guaranteed to scare all but the most courageous of men. Or stupid, in the case of many.

"The results of your previous mission to Suna raised several questions. One of which, is how Naruto happened to survive in the wild for two days while unconcious," Tsunade lectured. "I have arranged for Kakashi to go along with Team 8 to search the area of the battle, and other surrounding areas for any hints of what happened, as well as to see if there are any signs of Akatsuki activity in the area."

Pausing for a moment, Tsunade studied the faces of the two before her. Sakura had a look of understanding, as well as curiosity. She had spent much of the week trying to uncover how Naruto survived, and attempting to bring Naruto back to his usual cheery self.

Naruto, on the other hand, had an emotionless face. He was trying his best to hide his worry about what Team 8 may find, and his anger at his own failure.

Feeling the mood in the room starting to turn somber, Tsunade continued her explanation.

"Whatever happened needs to be found and recorded as accurately as possible," stated Tsunade matter-of-factly. "With his Sharingan, Kakashi will be invaluable, as anything they find will be recorded to nearly perfect accuracy, as well as preventing nearly any jutsu from interfering. Kiba, as well as his canine companion Akamaru, will be able to track any scent of potential hazards, or other curious parties involved. Shino's ability to communicate with insects, and his inner horde of kikaichu beetles will be useful for finding small things that we may over look. If there happens to be any type of chakra barrier, the kikaichu should be able to eat the chakra and dispel the barrier."

Tsunade focused on the pair, and frowned. Sakura was listening, and was following the logic behind her decision, while Naruto was staring out the window, daydreaming about ramen most likely. An idea came to Tsunade's mind, and she grew a cruel smirk.

"They will also be in charge of the demolition of Ichiraku's Ramen."

Naruto's head snapped instantly towards Tsunade. Tears coming to his eyes at the thought of the destruction of his favorite restaurant. His worry vanished, and turned into anger after seeing Tsunade's smirk. Naruto started to mumble about revenge pranks, and destroyed sake bottles.

"Last but not least, Hinata," Tsunade started once more. "Her byakugan will allow for large scans of the area, and will prevent most forms of ambush on the team. She will most likely also be a great motivational force for the group."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at this statement. Seeing his confusion, Tsunade smiled before continuing.

"She requested that her team be put on this mission when she heard of it. She said she wanted to prove herself to someone, and that she wanted to do her best to help a friend."

Sakura sweat dropped at her teacher's statement. From what she had heard, Hinata had been in a daze from the moment she heard about the mission. The idea of helping her not so secret crush after his three year absence had been a little bit too much for her.

A nod of understanding came from Naruto. Tsunade's explanation made sense to him. Hinata always had been nice and caring, it's no wonder that she wanted to help him.

"Now that I've explained my decisions to you, although I shouldn't have too, are you ready to meet our new teammate and sensei?"

Sakura let out a small cry of affirmation, while Naruto muttered out an unenthusiastic reply.

"They should be here, right. About. Now!" Tsunade pointed at the door.

The door remained shut.

Thirty seconds went by, as an awkward silence filled the room.

A vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead as she started to grind her teeth.

"Yamato! Sai! Get in here before I give you d-rank missions until Konohamaru retires!"

A loud sound of moving feet, crashing furniture, and at least two screeching cats emanated from the hallway. The door slowly opened, revealing a brown haired man with his eyes closed, and a pale boy wearing a black belly shirt and short ANBU pants.

Rage appeared on Naruto's face at the sight of the pale boy.

"It's you!"

* * *

Kakashi lazily eyed his team from behind as they approached the forest where he and Naruto had fought the Akatsuki Ninja, Deidara. Or at least what was left of the forest.

The area was still a large blight on the beautiful forest. What once had been a home for many animals and a place of relaxation for a lucky few travelers was now a crater.

At least, that's what Hinata had told him. They were still a couple minutes away from the desecrated forest.

Hinata had been very useful thus far, informing him of many possible oddities that may have occurred. They had determined that at least two merchants had found the crater, and had left the area quickly, judging by the change in the tracks. The first day, Hinata had even spotted some bandits setting up a trap for them, and the group was able to quickly dispatch the trap, and the minor annoyance of a group of motley men.

'The next team I take is definitely going to have a Hyuuga,' Kakashi thought happily. 'It's been nice not having to worry as much about traps. Or ninja hiding in terrible genjutsu puddles. Or shirtless men wielding large knives.'

Kakashi moved his gaze off of the back of Hinata, and onto Shino, who was standing in front of her.

The heavily cloaked Shino had been just as valuable as the Hyuuga heiress. He had used his kikaichu to easily wear down a majority of the bandits, as well as finding some minor traces of other ninja that had been through the area, such as minute amounts of residual chakra, and small shifts in the environment from human passage through the trees. Luckily, a majority of the tracks were at least a week old. Hopefully they were remnants of the Suna squad searching the area, and not of any rouge ninja.

'I'll need an Aburame as well. Forget his ability to track and disable, not dealing with any mosquitos has been a blessing, even though he is a puzzle, wrapped in an enigma, shrouded in riddles, and sprinkled with intrigue. I bet he's a lady killer. He's already proved he's a mankiller.'

With a smirk, Kakashi looked at the last member of his group, Kiba, who was leading the charge with his best friend, Akamaru.

This dynamic duo brought a special charisma to the team that felt right. Where Shino was an enigma, Kiba wore his heart on his sleeve. While Hinata was shy and quiet, Kiba was outgoing and comfortably loud. His heightened sense of smell and hearing fit perfectly with Hinata's expansive vision, and could give more focus to Shino's insect's search.

'Screw it, I'll just become the new tracking team leader and take an Inuzuka as well. They use dog partners, I can summon dog partners. They fight viciously with tooth and nail, I could help them use expert chakra nature control. It's just a match made in heaven!'

Kakashi's musings were cut short by his group suddenly stopping.

Looking past Kiba and Akamaru, he saw the moderately dense forest transform into a barren wasteland. The contrast between life and death was shocking.

A gasp came from the lone female of the group. Kakashi slowly stepped next to her and looked at her.

Hinata was covering her mouth with her hand, and had tears welling up in her eye. Seeing what could have obliterated her crush was taking a toll on her.

Kakashi reached out to grab her shoulder, but was stopped by a slight nod from Shino. Kakashi stepped back and watched Team 8.

"Huh, guess that knuckle head is stronger than I thought," Kiba said. "I guess this means we can stop holding back against him when we spar, eh boy?"

Akamaru barked in response.

"Kiba-San, that is the same excuse you use every time you face Naruto-San and lose," Shino retorted. "I suggest that you either spend more time sharpening your abilities, or create a credible reason for your failure."

Kiba deflated at his teammates comments.

"Thanks Shino. You're a great pal. You really are."

Hinata let out a giggle at her teammate's antics.

"Um, sorry Kiba-Kun, but Shino-Kun is right. You use the same excuse when you lose to Naruto-Kun in anything," Hinata teased.

Hinata looked around the area as her face turned serious.

"Ah, we should look for signs of N-naruto-kun's survival and return as soon as we can," Hinata said with renewed vigor.

Kakashi inwardly beamed at the team before him, as he slowly became jealous of the other team leaders and their bonds with their complete teams.

"Hinata is right," Kakashi said proudly. "Shino, use your kikaichu to search for any resemblance of outer interference, and, if possible, Naruto's chakra. I doubt I need to tell you this, but leave the big things to Hinata's byakugan, search underneath the underneath."

Shino gave a nod as a large horde of beetles left his body.

"While Shino is doing that, Hinata, I need you to search the area for more obvious signs of interaction and make sure we do not get ambushed."

Hinata let out a soft affirmation at her orders, and activated her byakugan.

"Kiba, I need you to get Naruto's scent, and see if it leads anywhere. Start your search near the North-West. We may get lucky and his scent goes directly to our next destination."

Kiba stared blankly at Kakashi, who in turn stared back.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yeah just a slight one," Kiba said as he pointed at his nose. "Where am I supposed to get his scent from?"

Everyone in the group paused, when suddenly Kiba, Shino, and Kakashi turned towards Hinata.

Hinata let out a slight yelp at the sudden attention.

"Ah, w-why a-a-are you looking at, um, me?"

A wide smile appeared on Kiba's face, while Kakashi's lone visable eyebrow arched in a smile. Even Shino showed signs of a smile. If you counted an emotionless face being replaced by a slightly less emotionless face, that is.

"You wouldn't have happened to have, ahem, acquired, something of his, would you?" Kiba teased.

Hinata's face turned bright red at the teasing.

"Ah, wha-, I, um," Hinata stuttered as she started to poke her fingers together.

"Oh stop teasing her," Kakashi said with a laugh as he reached into a pocket on his Jounin vest.

Kiba raised an eyebrow when Kakashi removed an incredibly beat up and burnt forehead protector from his vest. Kakashi tossed it at Kiba, who caught it.

"That is the only thing we found from our original search on our way back to Konoha. It should still have his scent, as well as the scent of the missing ninja we were fighting." Kakashi said with a slight grimace. "If you find information about either one, let me know."

Kiba nodded as he let his large canine companion sniff the headband.

Watching the duo, Kakashi resisted the urge to facepalm. He bit his thumb until it bled, and then flew through several hand signs.

"Summoning jutsu!"

There was a loud pop, and a plume of smoke enveloped Kakashi. When the smoke cleared, there were seven dogs, each wearing a Konoha headband.

A small pug, which was sitting on a large bulldog, put its paw on its head in a salute.

"Hey Kakashi, long time no see! Did you need something?" The dog said.

"Yeah sorry about that Pakkun, but we're searching for some information on what happened to Naruto couple of weeks ago, and we need your help finding his scent."

Pakkun growled slightly.

"I see. Is the kid okay?" Pakkun worriedly said.

Kakashi nodded in affirmation.

"He is fine now, we just need some information about what happened."

Pakkun smiled.

"That's good to hear. All we need is a scent. I assume you have it?"

Kakashi pointed at Kiba and Akamaru.

"He has Naruto's headband."

The dogs barked and rushed off to join the search.

'I have a feeling that this is going to take a while.'

* * *

Naruto scowled as he followed his new Sensei. Tsunade said that this man, Yamaha or something, was supposed to be their new leader, and was specifically there for him. Naruto may not be the smartest person, but he knew that this man had something to do with the giant fox sealed in his gut. His scowl turned into a glare as he thought about the apparent distrust Tsunade had in him.

His thoughts were interrupted by an elbow nudging him in the ribs.

Looking to his right, he shot a questioning glare at his pink-haired teammate.

"I don't think Yamato-Sensei would appreciate you glaring at him," Sakura said disapprovingly. "Besides, he isn't nearly as bad as Sai."

Naruto snorted at her comment. Yamato was definitely better than Sai. Sure, he probably deserved Yamato watching over him due to his previous actions against Deidara, but what did he ever do to warrant that pale jerk to be on his team.

Ever since he joined the team in the Hokage's office, he had done nothing but insult Sakura, and avoid Naruto. When confronted about it, the only thing Sai mentioned was that Naruto didn't match himself.

Naruto's gaze fell upon the creepily smiling pale boy, who seemed to flinch in return.

"Is there something you need Naruto-San?" Sai said in a flat voice.

The blonde merely continued to stare at the strange boy.

Sai had a small look of contemplation on his face, followed by a look of realization.

"I think I understand now Naruto-San," Sai stated. "You are in love with Sasuke-San, and my appearance reminds you of him."

Naruto's face erupted into rage for the sixteenth time that day as he yelled at Sai.

"I'm not in love with that bastard! I just want to bring him back for Sakura-Chan!"

Sai looked at Sakura, then back at Naruto.

"Naruto-San, from what I have read, Sasuke-San has never showed interest in Sakura-San," Sai once again stated in his monotone voice. "This must mean that he left because of how ugly she is and because she gets in the way of his love for you."

There was a dead silence as Sakura and Naruto's faces started to turn red.

"He most likely left as a traitor so that you would follow and the two of you could run away together, like in the books I've read," Sai said.

Naruto started to form a Ram seal, while Sakura started to channel chakra to her fist.

"Hey!" Interrupted Yamato, "I recognize that restaurant over there! Let's go eat and learn some more about each other."

"What is there to learn, Yamato-Sensei?" replied Naruto. "Sai is a jerk, you're almost as bossy as Sakura, and I've known Sakur-"

Naruto was interrupted by Yamato glaring at him. Naruto shivered at the ghoul-like eyes Yamato had. Naruto let out a slight chuckle as he looked at his teammates. Sakura had a look of fear on her face, while Sai had a startled look.

"Ah, yeah, let's go eat. I'm starving, -tebayo!"

Yamato's glare lessened, and he motioned for the group to follow him into the restaurant.

The group quickly entered the building.

The restaurant was fairly small. There were three small tables for four people in the middle of the room, with two booths on the sides. In the back was a small counter to order the food, as well as a gate to allow the lone waitress to deliver food from the kitchen.

The restaurant was empty, besides the lone waitress who motioned for the group to sit at any of the tables.

The revamped Team 7 sat down in an awkward silence as the waitress took their orders. Several minutes passed as the group allowed the awkwardness between them increase.

The waitress returned, and set down a pot of tea in the center of the table. She quickly returned to the kitchen area to escape the effect the group had on the area.

Yamato poured the tea in the glasses, which the waitress had forgotten to do in her haste.

The younger shinobi thanked Yamato, and returned to the awkward silence. Yamato let out a sigh of frustration.

Twelve minutes passed, the awkwardness now enveloping a large portion of the building.

"Ah there's our food!" Yamato chirped.

The rest of the group glanced at the undercover ANBU captain.

The waitress set down everyone's food. Naruto started to dig into his ramen, while Sakura played with her anmitsu. Sai slowly ate his tofu, not sure why everyone was acting so strange. He made a mental note to research more about emotions.

Yamato took a bite of his walnut encrusted fish. After swallowing, he cleared his throat, getting the attention of his new team.

"Tell me what your name is, your likes, dislikes, and your dream."

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other, and focused their attention on their food.

Sai blinked slowly at Yamato before smiling.

"This is one of those team exercises, isn't it?" Sai observed. "Very well I shall start."

A look of shock appeared on Yamato's face for a moment. He thought that he would have had to start himself.

"My name is Sai, I like drawing, I dislike traitors, and I don't have a dream."

Naruto and Sakura eyes connected.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

Naruto frowned.

Sakura raised both of her eyebrows and slightly tilted her head downwards.

Naruto averted his gaze away from Sakura.

Sakura kicked Naruto in the shin.

"Gah! Fine!" Naruto growled. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like training, Sakura-Chan, Kakashi-sensei, and ramen. I dislike the three minutes it takes to heat up water for instant ramen. My dream is."

Naruto closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, before looking up at his team.

"My dream is to become strong enough to protect the world from evil, and to become the Hokage!"

Sakura smiled at her teammate's response. Just what she expected from the blonde knucklehead.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like medical-jutsu, Team 7, and my family. I dislike those would try and tear apart my families, and my dream is to become as great of a medic as Tsunade-Sensei!"

"See now that wasn't so hard, now was it!" Yamato said with a smile.

"No it wasn't, Yamato-Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed. "Now it's your turn!"

Yamato mentally cursed. He wasn't prepared for this! He hasn't had to do this ever since he was partnered with Kakashi in the ANBU.

"I, uh, I'm Yamato. I like architecture, I dislike having to build everything made of wood, and my dream is to fight Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura and Naruto gave a nod of acceptance, while Sai wore an obviously fake smile.

'Why couldn't Kakashi make it?' Yamato thought anxiously. 'His mission couldn't be that hard could it?'

* * *

Kakashi growled as he lept from tree to tree, the sun was setting and was giving off the last moments of daylight.

After two hours of searching, they finally found a scent headed North-west from the carnage of the battle, just as Kakashi predicted.

Kiba, Akamaru, and Kakashi's summons had found several trails, but they had all ended up leading right back to the crater. Hinata's Byakugan, Shino's Kikaichu, and his own Sharingan had detected no genjutsu, but no matter which way they went, they always ended up back to where they started.

They had been trying to navigate the forest for six hours.

Kakashi raised a hand, signaling for the group to stop.

An exhausted Team 8 looked at Kakashi, waiting for orders.

"Whatever we are doing obviously isn't working," a frustrated Kakshi said.

Kiba snorted.

"I think we figured that out three hours ago," Kiba sarcastically retorted.

Ignoring the jab, Kakashi leapt down from the tree to the ground. Team 8 quickly followed suit.

This was at least the thirtieth time the group had attempted to navigate the forest.

The good news was that they hadn't ended up back at the crater yet.

The bad news was that they hadn't ended up at the crater yet.

Kakashi let out a sigh as the last light of the day ended, leaving the group in the darkness of night. He mused at the strangeness of the situation. They had come from the North-East with no problem, but attempting to go North-West merely sent them in circles. Kakashi looked at his team and let out a slight frown.

Hinata and Shino were exhausted, while Kiba was finally starting to wear down. If anything were to happen to them, Kakashi wasn't sure they could survive.

Kakshi thought of stopping in the forest to set up camp, but for some reason, he had a gut feeling that doing so was a terrible idea.

His thoughts were interrupted as a loud howl of a wolf pierced the calmness of the forest.

"Kiba, are there usually wolves in this area?" Kakashi asked.

"Normally? No. The wolves general stay further east, away from the desert." Kiba replied.

A smile broke out on Kakashi's face.

"Well I guess we can call that our first clue. Let's go check it out." Kakashi said in a jovial tune.

Team 8 gave a tired reply as they followed Kakashi into the forest.

For what seemed like hours, the group walked towards where the howl came from, keeping their eyes peeled, looking for anything that could give them hope.

Hinata no longer had her Byakugan active, for she had used too much chakra, but her eyes were still the best in the group. She looked around the forest, looking for any sign, however her weariness was finally catching up to her. She slowly started to stumble, before falling to the ground.

Her body, however, never hit the ground, as Akamaru caught her on his back. The incredibly large dog licked her face to wake her up.

Hinata's eyes slowly flickered open and she scratched Akamaru's head.

"Ah thank you Akamaru-Kun, you are a very good boy," Hinata stated in a sleepy voice.

Akamaru let out a bark.

There was a rustle in the forest.

Hinata looked towards the noise, eyes searching.

"Akamaru-Kun, bark again," Hinata quietly asked.

Akmaru barked once more.

Hinata saw a flash of grey in the woods.

"Kakashi-sensei! I found something!"

Kakashi and team 8 turned towards Hinata.

"Well then, let's go!" Shouted Kiba.

Hinata jumped to where she saw the flash of grey, her team right behind her. She looked around once more, and saw nothing.

A frown appeared on her face. She knew she had seen something, but where had it gone?

"Akamaru-Kun, could you please bark again?" Hinata asked politely.

Akamaru happily obliged the young heiress.

Hinata once again saw a flash of grey, and dashed towards it, Team 8 and Kakashi in tow.

Pushing through the trees and underbrush, the group arrived in a small clearing. Hinata quickly looked around, and saw a dark figure moving through a hollow tree trunk large enough for the entire group to go through at the same time.

"Kakashi-Sensei! I saw something move through that tree trunk," Hinata exclaimed.

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.

"Team, battle formations."

Kakashi moved as the tip of a diamond pattern, with Hinata and Kiba behind him, with Shino in the rear.

The group slowly walked through the tree trunk. As the group neared halfway through the trunk, there seemed to be a curtain of darkness preventing sight through trunk.

"I'll go in first, and I will attempt to signal you to come through if it is safe," Kakashi said sternly, "If you do not hear from me within thirty seconds, return to Konoha."

Team 8 nodded as Kakashi walked towards the darkness.

With a deep breath, Kakashi stepped through the wall of darkness.

* * *

A/N2: Well, there was a reference in there. Fairly obvious one too. Let me know if you see any grammar/spelling mistakes. Hope y'all enjoyed this. Also, GO CLIFF HANGERS. Yes I just wanted an excuse to use the word also once more.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So, yeah, it's been a little while. I think a month? Three weeks? I don't know. But I have returned with a new chapter! and there is even better news. This is the longest chapter of actual story so far! And more good news, I will have some free time to work on the story this week, and a little bit of this weekend. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. TIME FOR OBLIGATORY REVIEW BEGS. If you'd review, that would be great! I like to hear from y'all, and it is rather nice to know that people are reading the story, rather than it just sitting in internet purgatory. Thanks and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything I reference. I own a computer though. That's close, right?

* * *

Kakashi slowly stepped forward from the dark wall separating him from Team 8. His eyes darted around, observing the peculiar area he had just entered.

He was still in the trunk of the large tree, but he could see the end of the trunk opening into a small area.

Three seconds had passed.

Kakashi quietly made his way to the end of the faux tunnel, while standing near the left wall of the trunk. He could clearly see a large square clearing that was unusually well kept. Stepping out of the tree trunk, Kakashi listened and looked for any sign of life.

The opening had a flat ground with grass that barely covered Kakashi's ankles. The clearing was six meters long, and four meters wide. There was what appeared to be bark forming a wall around the clearing. Opposite of where Kakashi had entered, here was another open sideways tree trunk, and what appeared to be a collapsed tree trunk to the left of Kakashi. Next to the open tree trunk was a large stump with a pillar of light shining on it. The tree trunk opposite of Kakashi had another wall of darkness, preventing Kakashi from seeing past the small area.

Kakashi quickly lifted his headband away from his Sharingan eye, and looked over the clearing once more.

After finding no signs of any living thing, not even tracks in the grass, he covered his eye once more, and let out a breath.

Twenty seconds had passed.

'Strange, whatever Hinata had seen came this way.'

Kakashi walked to the middle of the clearing, and palmed a kunai from his sleeve, while making himself appear vulnerable. As he stood in the center of the clearing, he observed the tree stump next to the open tree trunk. He could see large symbols scratched into the trunk. Whatever they were, he had seen nothing like it before.

After three seconds passed, Kakashi placed his kunai in his pouch, and turned towards the trunk he had come through.

"Team 8!" Kakashi shouted, "It appears safe! Come through if you can hear me!"

Kakashi once again lifted his headband from his Sharingan eye, and observed the wall of darkness blocking him from his comrades.

Confusion came to Kakashi's eyes as he watched the members of team 8 slowly move through the pitch black.

Kakashi's eyebrow raised as his Sharingan watched them materialize through the wall.

'Whatever that wall is made out of is strong enough to block Obito's Sharingan. This is not good.'

Team 8 met Kakashi in the middle of the clearing, and stood in a diamond formation, keeping their eyes on Kakashi's and each other's backs.

"Now that we know we can go through those walls together, we shall do so," Kakashi commanded.

Team 8 nodded at the orders.

"I am unable to see through the darkness with my Sharingan," Kakashi said to the group.

Kiba sweat dropped at Kakashi's statement.

"Why didn't you try using that before you went to your possible death?" Kiba snidely remarked.

Kiba started to laugh nervously as Kakashi's Sharingan started to slowly spin.

"Because, Chunin, we have been searching for an entire day, and several hours into the night, and we are all starting to wear down. I am saving my chakra in case of an emergency." Kakashi growled in authority. "I would say we rest, but I have a strong feeling that doing so will not end well for us."

Hinata and Kiba had worried looks on their face, while a slight buzzing could be heard from Shino.

"Kakashi-Sensei," Shino said, quietly getting the groups attention. "I believe it would be best to continue on."

Hinata and Kiba looked at Shino incredulously.

"While we may be able to escape the forest, it took us hours to find this place, and there is almost no guarantee we will be able to find our way back here," Shino smoothly said. "This area seems to be maintained frequently, meaning there must be something in this forest to find. The chances of this great of a clue appearing again are slim to none."

Kakashi hummed in agreement as he covered his Sharingan.

"The first thing we should do before moving to the next area is finding out what the symbols on that tree mean," Kakashi said while pointing behind him with his thumb. "When we move to examine it, I want Hinata and myself to be in the front, so we can examine the symbols."

Hinata nodded at Kakashi.

"Don't activate your Byakugan unless I tell you to," Kakashi ordered, "I want you to have enough chakra left in case things turn sour."

Kakashi turned his head slightly and looked at Kiba and Shino.

"I want the two of you to watch for anything unusual. If you hear or see anything, shoot first, ask questions later."

The two Chunin gave nods of affirmation.

"Alright, let's move," Kakashi quietly said.

Hinata and Kakashi walked to the trunk, while Kiba and Shino watched for uninvited guests.

Several minutes passed silently, until Hinata let out a gasp of realization.

Kakashi, Kiba, and Shino all looked at Hinata expectedly.

Blushing at the sudden attention, Hinata sheepishly explained her findings.

"Ah, th-these symbols seemed to be scratched into the bark by, um, hand."

Kiba looked at his hand and smiled.

"I guess that's our first clue, eh Shino?" Kiba loudly exclaimed.

Shino gave a nod.

Suddenly, there was a loud howling noise through the trunk near the group.

Team 8 and Kakashi fell into defensive forms.

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by what sounded like the screams of a child, and another howl.

"That's our second clue. Let's go team!" Kakashi shouted.

The four shinobi ran to the nearby tree trunk, and pierced through the wall of darkness, throwing caution to the wind.

Team 8 and Kakashi rushed through the tree trunk, towards the light at the end of the tree. The group was silent, only the sound of their steps colliding with the hard bark could be heard.

Kakashi signaled for Team 8 to slow down as they neared the end of the tunnel created by the tree.

The group slowed until they could see the area ahead, and were signaled to stop by Kakashi.

A growl emanated from Akamaru at the sight before them.

There were many thin and tall trees scattered throughout the seemingly endless forest. In-between two trees in front of the exit of the tree trunk was a large gray pile. Underneath the pile was a scarlet pool of what could only be blood.

The group slowly stalked towards the pile, keeping eyes and ears for any unexpected visitors.

Kiba let out a gasp as he neared the pile, and darted forward, ignoring the yells of protests from Kakashi.

Upon closer inspection, Kiba saw that the gray mass resembled an incredibly large wolf that had short hind legs, and large forelegs. Moved next to the creature, doing his best to keep from splashing blood on his clothes and on the animal. He squatted and pulled out a roll of adhesive tape and some bandages with his left hand from an inside pouch on his jacket determined to help the wolf like creature. Using his right hand, he gently moved the creature.

Kiba dropped the tape and bandages.

Upon moving the creature, Kiba could now clearly see that the wolf had a long mouth that had black fur on top, long teeth stick out of its mouth. The top of the wolf's head appeared to have been smashed in, with blood and grey matter sticking out.

Kiba froze for a second, until something wet nudged his cheek. He quickly looked to his right, and stared at Akamaru, before going back to examining the wolf in hopes of finding what had killed the poor creature.

Kakashi and Hinata silently watched as Kiba examined the dead beast. Shino looked around the forested area watching for any would be attackers, as well as observing the new area.

'Many of these trees appear to be dead or dying,' thought Shino analytically.

He walked towards a tree slightly past Kiba, and inspected it closely. The tree's bark seemed rotted, yet gave of a strange feeling of ancient life. There was a short branch with grey leaves slightly above him.

Shino looked up towards the canopy, and absentmindedly watched the grey ceiling that was preventing any moonlight from entering.

Shino's eyes widened as he observed the trees start to shrink and the grey ceiling rushed towards him, threatening to crush him.

He raised an arm high to prevent his sudden demise, when there was a sudden piercing scream. He felt his body start to collapse as he covered his ears to protect himself from the deafening noise.

"Shino!"

Shino's head snapped towards the sound of Kakashi's voice.

"Are you okay Shino?" questioned a worried Kakashi.

Shino merely nodded his head.

Kakashi frowned at the cloaked bug ninja.

"Alright then let's keep moving. Kiba discovered that the beast was stomped to death, and found a trail of bloody footprints."

Shino watched as Kakashi walked towards Kiba, and Hinata, both whom were wearing worried expressions.

The corners of Shino's lips curved downwards as he moved to join his friends and temporary sensei.

'This place is not natural.'

* * *

Kakashi was certain he was still moving, following the bloody steps that would lead them to answers. He looked behind him at the tired faces of his team.

'How long have we been in this accursed place?'

The trail of blood created a twisting path through an unremarkable forest which had no defining features.

Kakashi slowly blinked as his exhaustion weighed on him, pulling him towards sleep. He stifled a yawn as he gently prodded himself with a senbon. The long needle sending a jolt of pain through his hand, as well as half a second of energy. Only the slight pain in his hand, and the gut feeling that rest would be his downfall kept him awake.

'We have been following this path for hours,' Kakashi thought ruefully.

"Or has it merely been seconds?" a voice gently whispered into Kakashi's ear.

Kakashi quickly turned around, Kunai in hand.

Kiba, Shino, and Hinata jumped at the sudden action, while Akamaru let out a sharp whine.

Kakashi observed the group, his lone eye widened.

"Who said that?"

Team 8 looked at each other, before Kiba spoke up.

"Kakashi-Sensei, you were talking to yourself. Something about time I think," Kiba rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled. "At least I think you were, I wasn't really paying attention. I was just following the path." Kiba continued as he pointed at the ground.

Kakashi looked at were Kiba pointed, and looked back at Kiba.

"There isn't a path there. That's just grass."

Kiba looked down at the grass with a look of horror.

Before hysterics set in, Kakashi pointed behind Kiba.

"The path is right behind you, were Shino and Hinata are standing."

Kiba looked behind himself and let out a nervous laugh.

"Ah. Yeah, of course it is! Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba yelled as he started to run down the path with Akamaru in tow.

Kakashi let out a sigh of frustration as he watched Kiba bolt down the path while Shino and Hinata watched flabbergasted.

'At least we'll get finished faster,' Kakashi thought optimistically. 'We've already spent a day following this path.'

"Or has it been minutes?" Kakashi whispered.

* * *

Kiba wheezed as he crouched over, hands on his knees.

'Why did I think running down the trail would be a good idea?'

Kiba looked up at Akamaru with a smile.

The big dog's mouth was open, as he was panting.

"We haven't had anything to eat or drink in a while, have we boy?"

Akamaru shook his head, and let out a loud bark.

Kiba smiled as he removed a scroll from his left pocket and sat on the ground. Akamaru followed suit, and sat right next to Kiba.

Kiba opened the scroll with a well-practiced flick of his wrist, and channeled chakra through the scroll. There was a large puff of smoke, and a quiet popping sound.

The smoke cleared to reveal Akamaru drinking water out of a small metal bowl, while Kiba was holding a canteen in one hand and a two pieces of beef jerky in the other.

Kiba took a greedy gulp from his canteen, and snapped his fingers with his hand holding the jerky.

Akamaru looked at Kiba, and eyed the jerky in his hand. Kiba smiled as he tossed the jerky to his best friend, who ate it in a single bite. The smile on his face persisted as he brought the jerky to his face.

He took a deep breath in, and frowned. Instead of the aroma of delicious jerky, there was nothing. Kiba took a large bite of his jerky as he looked at the bloody footsteps next to him. While he chewed, he reached out and touched the bloody footprints.

He brought his hand back, and looked at the liquid on his fingers.

'That is rather strange. We have been following this path for quite a ways, yet it is still wet.'

Kiba went to sniff the dark liquid, but scowled when there was no scent.

'I don't like this place. Nothing has a scent,' Kiba thought angrily as he shook the liquid off his hand. 'It's like this place doesn't have to follow the rules.'

"Kiba!"

Kiba's head snapped down the path as he watched his teammates and Kakashi walk towards him, all three of them wearing upset faces. He smiled at his team and took in another deep breath and sniffed the air.

'Not even my friends have a scent. I don't like rules, but this is going a bit too far.'

* * *

Hinata hid a smile as she listened to Kakashi lecture Kiba on the importance of staying together in enemy territory. Kakashi had told Kiba several stories on how sticking together increases chances of survival, and therefore more chances to read the next Icha Icha series.

'I thought Kurenai-Sensei would have taught Kiba-kun the importance of patience by now,' Hinata thought as she giggled to herself.

Hinata looked at her team in front of her, and frowned at the darkness slightly past them. Throughout their journey, she had been unable to see further than a couple meters ahead.

'If only I was stronger, I could use my Byakugan and help us out some more, but I'm already running low on chakra.'

Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath in as she recalled why she was in the forest. As thoughts of deep blue eyes faded, Hinata opened her eyes with a look of resolve.

Her hands moved in a blur as she formed handsigns.

With a quiet murmer, Hinata activated her Byakugan.

With her enhanced vision, Hinata could finally see through the plaguing darkness. With a small cheer of triumph, she looked further into the forest.

"Hinata, what are you doing, what do you see?" Kakashi asked in a mixture of worry and curiosity.

"Um I wanted to see if I could be of assistance, so I ah, I am looking ahead." Hinata said meekly. She paused for a second and a large smile appeared on her face. "I think I see the end of the path!"

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, trying to save the precious little chakra she had left.

"That's great Hinata!" Kiba yelled.

"Yes, good job Hinata-san," Shino courteously replied. "What did you see?"

"I saw, um, a really large tree, and another clearing behind the tree that had some ruins in it." Hinata excitedly said.

Kakashi smiled and let out a slight murmur of praise to whatever deity was finally showing mercy on them.

"Well then, let's waste no time." Kakashi happily chimed. "Let's move!"

Kakashi and Team 8 burst through the forest, filled with hope for the first time in what felt like weeks.

* * *

Hinata blinked several times at the scene before her, as tears welled up in her eyes.

The group had quickly arrived at the tree. Their one sliver of hope in a forest that only showed doom.

Hinata looked at the large tree that easily rivaled the size of the Hokage's tower. She then looked around the tree at what was causing her anguish.

Scattered around and in front of the tree were skeleton, most of which appeared to be of children.

Choking back tears, Hinata fell to her knees.

'This is horrible. What happened to these people?'

Hinata felt a tug on her shoulder, and looked behind her. Kakashi had a knowing look on his face as he crouched next to her.

"I know this is hard, but we need to keep moving," Kakashi gently whispered.

He let go of Hinata's shoulder, and held his hand out. Hinata wiped a stray tear from her cheek, grabbed Kakashi's hand, and pulled herself up.

"Oi! Kakashi-sensei, Hinata! Shino found something!"

Kakashi and Hinata turned towards Kiba's voice, and saw him and Shino near the colossal tree. The duo hustled over to the tree, curious at what Shino had found.

"Well Shino, what did you find?" questioned Kakashi.

Shino motioned for Kakashi and Hinata to follow him as he walked to the base of the tree. He led the group to a skeleton with one arm that was leaning on the trunk of the tree.

Shino held up a rusted kunai.

"I found this skeleton holding onto this kunai," Shino plainly stated. He then pushed the skeleton to the side, revealing writing scratched into the tree.

Clearing his throat, Shino began to read the last words of the skeleton.

"I've been in this damn forest for who knows how long. No matter where I go, I always end up right back here or at the ruins. If you're reading this, it's already too late for you. I knew I shouldn't have tried to find that damn brat. I feel my energy draining and sleep is so tempting. Too much of my time was spent fighting off the horrors. I shouldn't have scared away that little bastard. I've failed my mission. At least I had a bl-"

Shino adjusted his goggles and turned towards his teammates.

"It cuts off there," Shino finished.

Kakashi read the writing once more, and adjusted his flak jacket.

"Team, let's try and find these ruins. It should be the ones we were sent here to investigate," Kakashi said while stifling a yawn.

Shino and Hinata nodded their heads. Kakashi eyed Kiba who was hunched over, staring at the skeleton.

"Kiba!"

Kiba shot up and turned towards Kakashi.

"Yeah Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Were you listening or were you too engrossed with that poor fellow?" Kakashi questioned.

"Ah I was listening, but something about this guy doesn't seem right," Kiba answered in a confused voice.

Kiba knelt back down and examined the skull of the skeleton. The skeleton had a strange metal device on the left side of its face. Kiba reached towards the metal device.

"I feel like it's watching me."

Suddenly, the skeleton's right eye socket started to glow red. The arm of the skeleton leapt forwards, attempting to grab Kiba's throat.

Kiba quickly jumped out of the way, as the skeleton slowly stood up.

The sound of rattling bones could be heard throughout the forest. Team 8 and Kakashi looked around, and to their horror, all of the skeletons near the tree started to move.

"Guys," Kiba said fearfully, "I think we should get out of here."

Kakashi, Hinata, and Shino agreed.

"Hinata, where did you see the ruins?" quickly questioned Kakashi.

"Ah, they were behind the tree, and through an archway surrounded by a bunch of trees," Hinata replied.

"Well," Kiba interjected, "then what are we waiting for?"

Team 8 and Kakashi quickly jumped to an empty space to the right of the tree. Upon landing, the group saw a large horde of skeletons between them and a stone archway. Kiba looked behind the group and snarled.

"Lots of 'em behind us as well, ready Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked and started to growl.

"Hold it Kiba," commanded Kakashi, "Let's focus on getting to the ruins and not getting attacked from all sides."

Kiba nodded and Akamaru stopped growling.

"Kakashi-Sensei, I assume you have a plan?" Shino asked, showing no signs of fear.

Kakashi nodded and flew through hand signs.

"Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!"

Kakashi spat a torrent towards the group of skeletons gathering near the archway. The water rushed forward, crushing everything in its path.

As the water hit the skeletons, they let out loud shrieks, and the cracking of bones could be heard. When the jutsu finished, the broken skeletons started to glow. Preparing for the worst, Kakashi started hand signs to raise a wall of earth.

Before he could finish his jutsu, all of the bones popped into a small cloud of purple smoke, which quickly faded away.

Kakashi looked at team 8, and motioned for them to move forward. The shinobi quickly moved to the archway, ignoring the growing mob of undead behind them.

Kakashi stopped at the archway, and pushed team 8 forward. After they made it through, Kakashi went through more hand signs. After finishing a large wall of earth blocked the archway, preventing the skeletons from closing in.

Kakashi fell down to the ground, exhausted from using so much of his precious remaining chakra. His breath was labored, and his one visible eye started to droop closed. Suddenly, he was jerked backwards from underneath his arms. Looking behind him, he saw Shino picking him up.

"I do believe you said falling asleep would be unwise," Shino quipped, "therefore it seems appropriate to keep you from passing out."

Kakashi merely nodded at Shino, and forced himself to stand up, throwing an arm around Shino's shoulder.

The two hobbled down the path, trying to catch up with the rest of their team. They neared the end of the wooded path, and saw Kiba and Hinata staring out.

"What did you find?"

Hinata looked back, and quickly focused out at the sight before her.

"We found the ruins, Kakashi-Sensei," Hinata quietly replied.

"Yeah, and a lot of it," Kiba chimed in.

When Kakashi and Shino got to the end of the path, their eyes widened at the sight before them.

There was a large broken down wall surrounding an acre of land empty land. Scattered throughout the plains were tall moss covered marble pillars. Just past the broken walls, the land slightly slanted down, with a cobblestone path leading towards the center of the plot of land. The path suddenly vanished two thirds of the way to the center, leaving no sign of it ever existing. In the direct center of the property, there seemed to be a stone pedestal.

"Team," Kakashi forced out, "I don't' know how much time we have, so let's find out as much as we can, as fast as we can."

Kiba and Akamaru started to examine the area behind them, making sure nothing would sneak up on them, while Shino had his Kikaichu examine the walls that had fallen. Hinata had started walking towards the pedestal, while Kakashi took out a piece of paper that had a sketch of the ruins as last seen by travelers.

'This is odd,' Kakashi thought, 'the sketches show this area being much smaller, and the travelers made no mention of hardships coming through this area. These reports are barely a month old. I guess whatever happened to Naruto had some effect on this land.'

Putting away the sketch, Kakashi watched as Hinata neared the pedestal.

'Whatever it is, I don't think we're going to last long. I'm nearly out of chakra, and so is Hinata. Although he is hiding it, I can tell Kiba is fading fast as well.'

Kakashi turned his head and watched as Kiba lethargically started to set up traps on the path.

'Shino will also have no chakra, with his Kikaichu constantly feeding on him, and not having a time to rest and recharge. At least we have this moment to take it somewhat slow.'

Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted by a loud shriek. Turning towards the noise, Kakashi saw skeletal arms emerging from the ground, grabbing Hinata's legs.

At the same time, Kakashi heard an explosion from behind. Kakashi turned around and saw Kiba fighting off skeletons, while the traps Kiba had just finished setting up were quickly being used.

Kakashi turned towards Shino's last known location, but instead of the stoic bug ninja, Kakashi was met with a jagged sword rushing to split his skull. He quickly dodged out of the way and saw the one armed skeleton staring back at him with a beady red glowing eye.

"I re-re-member y-y-you," the skeleton said in a wraspy voice.

Kakashi threw a roundhouse kick at the skeleton, but was pushed off balance from the side. Looking to the side, he saw a small skeleton going to claw at him. He quickly rolled out of the way, avoiding the child skeleton. Kakashi flipped himself onto his feet and went to punch the one armed skeleton in the sternum, but the undead monster blocked by kicking the small skeleton in his way.

Kakashi started to go through hand seals, but was interrupted by a shout from Kiba.

"Akamaru watch out!"

Kakashi dodged a swipe of the skeleton's sword, and watched as Kiba and Akamaru were dogpiled by skeletons.

Kakashi let out a curse and pulled a kunai from his pouch, just in time to parry the skeleton's next strike.

The skeleton attacked with fury, its lone red eye shining with hate for the copy ninja. The skeleton raised its arm, and went for a powerful vertical slice.

Kakashi's reflexes kicked in, and he sidestepped the swipe, leaving the skeleton's sword stuck in the ground. Using the moment of opportunity, Kakashi followed his instincts, and pushed away the skeleton's lone arm, and stepped in, stabbing the skeleton in the heart.

At least, that would be if the skeleton had a heart.

Kakashi mentally berated himself as he withdrew his knife from between the empty ribs of the skeleton. Rather than focusing on the enemy at hand, his tired instincts drove him to what would work against the living.

The skeleton let out a deep chuckle, and pulled free the sword from the ground. It went to slice Kakashi with a diagonal slash, but was interrupted by the ground suddenly shaking.

Kakashi looked past the skeleton to see the source of the shaking. During his fight against the skeletons, Shino had caused a one of the pillars to fall. Shino had been able to dodge out of the way, but the shaking ground caused him to lose his footing, allowing skeletons attacking his prone body. Shino rolled away trying to avoid getting hit.

Turning his attention back to his own fight, Kakashi focused on dodging his opponent's attacks, while judging his levels of chakra.

'I think I have enough chakra for a low power Lightning Blade,' Kakashi thought as he ducked under a horizontal swipe, 'I just hope that everyone else will be fine without me.'

Kakashi cursed himself when his thoughts were interrupted by a scream from Hinata.

Looking up, Kakashi saw Hinata with her Byakugan activated, and clutching her eyes as though they were in pain. He watched in horror as the skeletal arms started to drag her now unconscious body under the dirt.

Kakashi growled, and flew through handseals and his fist erupted into lightning.

He quickly raised his headband, revealing his sharingan, and charged the skeleton.

With a shout of his technique, Kakashi dodged the Skeleton's attack, and used his lightning covered fist to burn a hole straight through the skeletons chest. The skeleton looked at Kakashi, as the red light faded from its eye. Kakashi pulled his arm free of the skeleton, as it started to glow, and exploded into purple smoke.

After the smoke cleared, Kakashi looked towards Hinata to see if she had been fully pulled into the ground, but as he faced the stone pedestal, the vision in his Sharingan eye started to fade, and a sharp pain coursed through the left side of his face, as though he were being stabbed with a burning hot knife.

The pain was too much for Kakashi as he fell to the ground, his consciousness fading.

With his mind falling, Kakashi swore he heard a loud laughter and the sound of a trumpet.

He rolled on his side as darkness took him, his vision starting to falter.

'Is that a puppet?'

* * *

A/N 2: Yes, I'm addicted to cliff hangers now. No, I will not stop using them. Yes, I know they are frustrating. No, I won't tell you what happens next, you'll have to read the next chapter for that.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: It's okay! I'm not dead! HAVE A CHAPTER.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or any other references I make. I do own a terrible case of procrastination, though.

* * *

There was a slight breeze gently rustling the leaves of the lush forest. An aura of peace lingered over the green, and time seemed to stand still at the beauty of the ancient trees, the multitude of colored flowers, and the deep green grass. The thick canopy of the forest allowed very little light through. Only the most observant could tell night from day.

The forest was quiet, only the wind making a sound. But that would all soon change.

A loud howl pierced through the night.

Light green eyes scanned the forest, looking for its prey. The sound of sniffing filled the air, and the sound of paws stomping on the ground followed soon after. A large hand like claw reached up and scratched right behind a fur covered grey ear.

The beast's head slowly turned to the right, eying the forest for its next meal. The beast took in another deep sniff, as its ears twitched. Thinking it had lost its prey's trail, it slowly turned around and started to retrace his path in the forest.

The beast's front paw gently touched the forest floor as he moved, and it was met with a resounding crack.

Instantly, the beast turned around, and saw a flash of orange in a bush.

With a howl, the beast jumped at the shrubbery, swinging a large clawed paw at his prey's hiding place.

The bush was easily sliced, and the light green eyes stared into piercing yellow eyes. The yellow eyed creature opened its beak like mouth, and let out a piercing scream. The beast covered its ears with its paws, as blood started to leak from them.

The beaked creature lashed out with a hand covered in an orange leaf glove, striking the large beast in the throat. The beast stumbled, and the beaked creature jumped into the air, disappearing.

The beast looked around, confused as to why the green of the forest had suddenly changed into a grey land of death.

A snarl escaped the grey maw of the beast. The snarl turned into a yelp of pain, as a loud cracking sound was heard. The beast turned its head as he saw the beaked creature standing on its now broken back.

The beaked creature stepped off of the beast's back, and looked at it with anger.

With a scream, the beaked creature started to stomp on the beasts head, coating his orange shoes a dull red.

The beaked creature continued to smash the poor beast's skull, but stopped when he looked into the puddle of blood beneath him. In the puddle of blood was the creature's reflection.

His wood like skin was covered in dark orange and green clothes made of leaves. He was wearing a belt made of circles of bone connected with sinew. On his head was a hat fashioned from dark orange leaves, with another belt, and on the reflections face was a heart shaped mask, with red and orange eyes.

The creature let out a shriek and shook its head, and looked back in the blood.

The mask was gone, and he was staring back at his beaked face and yellow eyes.

"Heh, ah, heh, why is this happening?" questioned the creature.

A look of anger came upon his face at the haunting memories that assaulted him. He started to stomp at the ground and started growl. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft pat coming from behind him. Turning around, the creature stared at a large tree trunk. There was a rustling of leaves as a large wooden figure floated down on strings in front of the creature.

The wooden figure looked like a hunched over wooden man, with long legs and arms. The head of the wooden spun around as red eyes looked at the beaked creature, and smiling mouth slowly started to move.

"Skull…. Kid…. Friends…. Come…."

Skull Kid looked at the puppet and chuckled.

"I wonder if my friends want to play a game."

Skull kid turned around and ran through the forest with a hearty laugh, as the puppet was pulled back into the sky by its strings.

* * *

Tree leaves rustled as Skull Kid nimbly moved around the branches of a large tree. He looked down and observed a most peculiar thing. There was a boy wearing some type of hooded cloak, and his eyes were covered by some weird black thing.

Skull Kid cocked his head.

'Oh I wonder if he can see through those things.'

Skull Kid started to chuckle as a purple spark jumped between his fingertips.

'Let's try my first trick on him!'

Small purple sparks started to jump from Skull Kid's hands onto the grey leaves.

Snickering, Skull Kid looked down at the hooded person.

'Now to get him to look up.'

Turning his head, Skull kid looked around and frowned.

After a couple of seconds, his eyes opened wide and he began to wiggle his right index finger. As he moved his finger, a small piece of black string slowly descended from above him. Skull Kid deftly picked the string out of the air, and started to lean over the boy.

With a giggle and a whisper, Skull Kid let go of the piece of the now purple string, and gave it a gently blow. With eyes wide open in anticipation, he watched as the string slowly floated down towards the boy.

After a few seconds, the string barely touched the boy before floating to the ground. The boy slowly looked at the tree, entranced. Skull Kid quietly clapped his hands as the boy looked upwards, and started to stumble. Skull Kid cupped his hands in front of his beak, and let out a quiet screech, causing the boy to cover his ear

With a short laugh, Skull Kid quickly fled from his prank as a smile appeared on his beaked face.

"My new friends are going to be so much fun!"

* * *

Skull Kid took a quiet shallow breath as he watched the one eyed man slowly followed a path of red footprints.

Looking down, Skull Kid frowned at the red jelly stuck on his shoes. He quietly rubbed the jelly on the ground, as he slowly moved behind a tree. Hearing a gurgle, Skull Kid turned around and saw the red jelly start to form yellow eyes.

With a slight growl, Skull Kid threw a small rock at the forming creature, which caused the jelly to let out a small his, and slowly crawl away.

Looking back at the one eyed man, Skull Kid furrowed his brow.

'I wonder what he's thinking,' thought Skull Kid.

With a smile, Skull Kid grabbed a small leaf from a low branch of the tree he was hiding behind. He crumbled the leaf in his left hand, and looked down at his shoes. Seeing a small blotch of the red jelly, the used his right finger to take a small scoop, and dabbed it into the leaf. The leaves stuck into the red jelly, and Skull Kid started to mix the two.

Pausing for a second, Skull Kid looked up at his prank target, ensuring he was still there. Looking back down at the mixture, Skull Kid held his hand out, and took a small step back in fear. Looking at his and, there was a blood shot orange eye.

'Ah this is what she told me about,' Skull Kid thought mournfully, looking at the now green paste in his hand. 'She told me that there would be consequences. Whatever those are. At least her brother told me there would be bad things because of it.'

Shaking the thoughts away, Skull Kid held the green paste in-between clasped hands.

'Oh well, let's just find out what he's thinking about!'

Skull Kid started to quietly mutter, as he slowly opened his hands. The green paste slowly started to give off a white smoke. Skull Kid breathed in deeply as the wind blew from behind him, towards the strange man. He quickly moved closer to the one eyed man, as the smoke started to turn clear. With his trained eyes from performing the ritual before, Skull Kid could see the faint lines of the smoke starting to envelope the one eyed man, and three other people.

Skull Kid slowly blinked.

'Oh no. That wasn't enough for all four of them!' Skull Kid started to panic. He took a couple of steps to the next tree and started to climb, when he heard strange things come from the mouths of the group.

Skull Kid had a confused expression. What language were these people speaking? He'd never heard anything like it.

In his moment of stupor, Skull Kid realized that his spell working on all four of them.

'What? Why is it working on all of them? Are they really weak to magic?'

The one eyed man pulled out a knife, and looked like he was about to attack his companions

Skull Kid felt a slight pang of guilt, but it left as he watched the boy with strange red marks on his face run off with a really large dog.

'Heh heh ha. I wonder what happened! I better follow him!'

* * *

Skull Kid eyed the marked boy and his dog strangely. For some reason, they both kept sniffing the air, food, and even the jelly that he had used to create the trail.

Skull Kid sniffed deeply and the smells of the forest comforted him. The smell of grass reminded him of one of his first friends. He didn't have the best of memories, but he always remembered smell. His friend met him in this forest, and he was kind to him. Skull Kid's friend smelled of trees, grass, and fairies.

Skull Kid paused as a beam of light shined through the canopy onto him. He looked at the light, as memories of his white and purple friends returned.

Paying no mind to the strange boy and his dog, Skull Kid headed back to the tunnel into the forest.

Memories of the pain he had caused and how he harmed his friends returned. Skull Kid frowned as eh thought of the pranks he pulled on these travelers, and how they reacted.

'Am I turning back?'

Skull Kid thought of how his four friends abandoned him after his seemingly harmless pranks had started to hurt others.

Skull Kid started to run as memories of his curses returned.

He ran past the wolf, and froze.

Death.

Forcing his legs to move, Skull Kid walked through the fallen tree.

'Is that where they went?' thought Skull Kid in anguish, 'Is that what he meant they had to leave?'

Skull Kid left the fallen tree, and entered the clearing. He looked at the tree stump, which had a warning inscribed on it.

"Warning," Skull Kid read out loud, "Do not enter. Wolfos, Chus, Stalfos, and Skull Kids have been sighted."

Skull Kid frowned at the warning, which had started to wear down. He stepped closer to the tree, and used his fingers to carve in fading parts of the message.

Stepping back, Skull Kid continued to read the warning.

"Those who get lost are doomed to roam the forest, even in death."

Skull Kid paused.

"I led them into the forest. I got them lost. What have I done?"

Looking around the clearing, Skull Kid saw a collapsed tree trunk. A look of familiarity appeared on his face, as he ran to the trunk.

Growling, Skull Kid clawed his hands and crouched. He closed his eyes as purple sparks started to jump around his body.

He opened his eyes and frowned. He then stood up straight, and relaxed, allowing the sparks to dissipate.

"I won't rely on that stupid thing anymore!" Skull Kid said with vigor, "I have my friends to help!"

Skull Kid let out a sharp whistle.

A couple of seconds later, two puppets appeared. Both appeared similar to the first puppet that met with Skull Kid, but these two had paintings. One had purple lines and markings, while the other had yellow drawings.

"Tatl, Tael, help me get through this tree!"

The two puppets seemed to nod and started to rip apart the trunk.

Skull Kid paused as he watched his puppets work.

'I miss you guys, but I understand you had to leave,' Skull Kid sadly thought, 'But thanks for being my best friends.'

The puppets had finished clearing a path in under a minute, causing Skull Kid to jump with joy as he ran through the tree.

He slowed down as he exited the trunk into another clearing. His eyes focused immediately on a tree stump on the middle of a beam of light. Walking over to the tree, he started to joyfully laugh at the carving on the stump.

On the stump was a carving of himself, two small winged creatures, four large giants, and a boy with pointed ears and a sword. Skull Kid smiled as he touched the carving.

"Thank you for saving me. Now I'll repay the favor!"

Skull Kid knelt down in front of the tree, as he started to push away the dirt.

He dug through the ground for several minutes, when his hands hit something hard.

Digging some more, Skull Kid revealed a metal chest in the ground. He grabbed the sides of the chest, and with a hefty pull, freed the box from its earth prison. Skull kid smiled as he held the chest in front of him. He gently laid it on the ground and opened the chest.

On the top of the chest was a metal shield. The shield was silver and blue, with a red bird design. Underneath the bird were three golden triangles. Underneath the triangles was another bird.

Skull Kid lifted up the shield and looked at the rest of the treasures in his box. He took out some papers, and read them.

"Title deed to a flower? Why would I need that?" Skull Kid questioned. He stuffed the paper into the handle of the shield and picked up the next item, a small trumpet decorated in leaves.

Skull kid brought the trumpet to his mouth and gave an experimental blow. The buzzing of the trumpet burst through the forest, as several puppets fell from the ceiling, awaiting their friend's orders.

Skull Kid waved off the puppets and pulled out one last thing from the chest, a mask in the shape of a skull.

He fondly touched the mask as memories of his dear friend returned. Sniffling, Skull Kid wiped away a stray tear as he put the mask on.

Skull Kid put the trumpet in his pocket, returned the shield to the chest, closed the chest, and buried the chest.

Satisfied his treasure was hidden, Skull Kid ran through the tree trunk, back towards his forest.

"It's time for me to be the hero!"

* * *

Creaking and rattling were heard all throughout the forest. A skeleton slowly moved away from the unconscious body below him and left for his new prey, a one eyed man who had stumbled to the ground. The skeleton shambled towards the man. The skeleton grabbed another skeleton by the arm, and ripped off its humerus.

The man was now lying on the ground, and the skeleton was right behind him. The skeleton raised the bone and prepared to beat the man to death.

The skeleton was interrupted by a loud laugh.

The skeleton turned around to see a small child wearing a skull mask. The skeleton stood still in what was presumably shock.

If the skeleton had thoughts, they were immediately interrupted by the child playing a note on what appeared to be a trumpet and flute hybrid. The skeleton jaw opened and closed as it took a step forward, but was stopped when a tremendous weight landed on top of it.

Skull Kid laughed as he watched his puppet drop on the skeleton.

"Heh, stupid Stalfos always fall for that one."

Skull Kid looked around the clearing and smiled as he watched his army of puppets destroy the undead. While his friends fought, Skull Kid moved towards the one eyed man. Skull Kid knelt down next to the man and barely put him on his shoulders. He looked around and smiled as he looked at the large temple. Carrying the man, Skull Kid headed towards the building.

He stopped outside of the large engraved wooden door, and gently put down the man. He turned around to look for the rest of the man's friends, but tripped over something soft and face planted on the ground.

Letting out a groan of pain, Skull Kid rolled onto his back and looked what he tripped over.

In front of him was a girl with long dark blue hair, wearing a lavender and cream jacket and blue pants.

Skull Kid crawled over and took a deep sniff.

'She smells nice.'

Drawing closer, Skull kid looked at the girl's face, and was surprised with how red the area around her eyes were. He moved his hand to touch her face, but was stopped when blood started to leak from under her eyelids.

"Oh this is not good!" Yelled Skull Kid as he looked around the clearing.

He saw that his puppets had taken care of the stalfos, and were bringing over two more people and a large dog. He looked towards the hooded boy, and saw a large pile of rocks.

His eyes flashed in recognition as he dashed towards the rocks.

As he neared he played his trumpet, and ordered his puppets to move one of the rocks from the bottom of the pile.

The puppets lifted a rock, and Skull Kid slid underneath the uplifted rock. He examined the small rock, and let out a small cheer as a small bubble of red started to come out of the bottom of the rock. He waited for the bubble to enlarge into a transparent red slug with yellow eyes. He quickly grabbed the slug, got out from under the rock, and rushed back to the girl.

Arriving at her side, Skull Kid gently opened her mouth with one hand, and squeezed out some red ooze from the slimy slug into the girls mouth. The girl started to cough violently.

Skull Kid quickly sat on top of her, preventing her body from shaking too much, and then proceeded to squeeze some of the ooze onto the girl's eyelids and temples.

After a minute, the girl stopped coughing.

Skull Kid let out a breath. He looked around the clearing and spotted a stalfos that was wearing some clothes.

He went over to the stalfos, and noticed it had only one arm, and some weird metal thing on the left side of his face. He knelt down and ripped off some of the black cloth from the small amount hanging on the skeleton's waist. He returned to the girl, and gently wiped the blood off of the girls face, revealing healthy white skin.

Skull Kid congratulated himself as the puppets dropped off the two boys and dog.

"I did it! I saved the day!" Skull Kid cheered, "Now I can go back and take a nap!"

His celebrations were ended by the one eyed man moaning in pain.

Skull Kid looked at the man and let out a groan.

The man's hands were starting to wear down to bone.

"I can't believe I forgot they will turn into Stalfos!" groaned Skull Kid, "Now what will I do?"

He looked around the clearing and paused. He turned around and looked at the large engraved door. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Several seconds passed, and Skull Kid turned around to leave.

Before he took a step he heard the door creak open, as well as a jovial voice.

"Naruto? Is that you are not Naruto."

Skull Kid turned around and looked at the large old man standing in the door way. He gently waved and let out a small laugh.

"Ah, um, h-h-hel-he-hell-he."

The old man raised his hand and stopped Skull Kid from speaking.

"It's okay," the old man soothingly said, "I understand you are afraid of adults."

Skull Kid looked down at the ground.

"Although I will say, I am surprised you are alive. I haven't heard of you since the Hero of Twilight."

Skull Kid smiled behind his mask as memories of his brown haired friend flashed through his mind.

"Well what can I help you with my child?"

"Uhm, C-c-can. Help m-m-my. Friends?" Skull kid questioned, fearful of the man who seemed to know of his past.

"Don't worry child, I do not judge you because of your past," the old man said with a smile.

Skull Kid jumped for joy.

"Thank you old man!" Skull Kid cheerfully said.

The old man laughed. "My name is Hakkai, but I guess old man will do. That's what everyone else has called me."

The two were interrupted by another groan from the one eyed man.

Hakkai looked at the man frowned.

"My child, I can take care of them from here, you may go back to your home."

Skull Kid nodded as he turned around. He took six steps, but was stopped by Hakkai's voice.

"You are a good kid. Don't let your past stop you from having your future."

Skull Kid slouched. He then turned around, gave Hakkai a thumbs up, and ran into the forest.

Hakkai smiled as the child left. His attention then turned to the four people and dog in front of him. He knelt down and looked at the piece of metal on the cloth covering the one eyed man's lost eye.

"Konoha? Well I can get them back there."

Hakkai started to chant as a green light started to gently shine around the unconscious group.

Suddenly, a small tornado crossed over the bodies, and vanished, leaving no trace of the tornado or the people.

Hakkai let out a sigh as he slowly shut the large door.

"I hope Skull Kid visits," Hakkai said sadly, "I get lonely out here."

* * *

Izumo and Kotetsu were enjoying their guard life. They sat at the entrance to the village and checked identification all day. Surprisingly, not very many people try to fake ids to get into villages filled with people who can kill you in the blink of an eye.

"Hey Izumo?"

"Yeah Kotetsu?"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"I was thinking oden and tuna."

"Really?"

"No, I want bitter melon."

"Is this because of that girl last night? I could have sworn he was a girl!"

"Well why didn't you find out before you shoved me into him!"

"How about you actually try and find, is that a tornado?"

The two watched as a tornado flew past the village gate, leaving Kakashi and Team 8 lying on the ground.

"Hey Izumo?"

"Yeah Kotetsu?"

"This is going to be a lot of paperwork, isn't it?"

"Yes it is."

* * *

A/N2: I have been wanting to write this chapter for a LONG time. Skull Kid is one of my favorite characters ever, and he is pretty fun to write. GO MISCHIEVOUS CHARACTERS THAT HAVE TRAGIC WORLD DESTROYING PASTS. Anyways, time for the excuses. I was too busy doing a thing for another thing that prevented me from doing this thing. But really, I apologize for taking a month and a half or so for this chapter. The next chapter should be out WAY sooner. At least I hope so. As usual, I hope you all enjoyed the story, and leave a review! Or don't. Have a great night/day/morning/year/month/decade/hour/time/wutevs.

Oh and if you see any grammar/spelling mistakes, please let me know. I always get paranoid about them.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Told ya I'd have it out sooner. Maybe the next chapter will be out even closer than this one. No promises. Inspiration is a cruel mistress, and a terrible way to write, but I just can't seem to force myself sometimes. Not counting this, as I forced myself to do it. Little bit of a pro tip for all things in life, discipline is better than inspiration. Of course this just makes me seem like a giant hypocrite, but I'm working on it. As usual, please let me know if you see any obvious grammar or spelling mistakes. If you want to leave a review, that'd be awesome. If you don't want to leave a review, that's fine. I totally don't enjoy them. What's that? Reverse psychology doesn't work? Darn. Oh well. Better luck next time I guess.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the Legend of Zelda, or anything else I intentionally or unintentionally reference. However, give me 3 years, a bottle of water, some spandex, and a can of spam, and I could make a miracle happen.

* * *

The smell of ashes assaulted Naruto's nose while he watched the village he once loved burn. His eyes moved towards his clawed hand. Fear and anger coursed through him as he saw a pair of ebony eyes staring at him.

"N-Naruto," said the ebony eyed person, "Give back Naruto."

A voice came from Naruto's mouth that was not his own.

"Oh? You want Naruto?" Naruto mockingly questioned, as he lifted the person into the air, their black hair now covering their ebony eyes. "I'm afraid that he is no longer with us, and will never return."

Naruto felt his hand squeeze, and heard a gasp. He watched as his own hand strangled the ebony eyed person. He tried to resist, but he had no control.

Naruto felt his mouth curve into a wicked smile as he slowly squeezed the life from his victim.

The black haired man looked into Naruto's eyes, as his own flashed into a red and black pinwheel.

"D-d-damn you."

Naruto slammed him into the ground mercilessly.

"Oh Sasuke, that won't work on me anymore," Naruto cackled as red chakra started to pour from his body.

"It will," wheezed Sasuke, "I just have to wake him up."

Wake him up.

Wake up.

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to a pair of green eyes staring at him.

Startled, Naruto quickly sat up and felt an immense pain on his forehead.

A hiss of pain came from Naruto and Sakura, as they both rubbed their foreheads.

"Gah you idiot!" Sakura hissed, "Why would you do that!"

Naruto groaned as he looked around him. He saw green material forming four walls around him. To his left were his temporary sensei, Yamato, and the pale menace, Sai, both of whom were sleeping. Looking to his left, Naruto nervously chuckled as he saw Sakura half a meter away, rubbing her forehead.

"Sorry Sakura-chan, but you scared me," Naruto quietly replied.

"Scared you? You scared me!" Sakura whispered back, trying not to wake her still sleeping team mates.

Naruto looked at Sakura curiously. What did she mean he scared her?

Sakura looked at the sleeping forms of Sai and Yamato, and motioned for Naruto to follow her. She slowly stood up and pushed open the tent flap. She was greeted by the confused looks of clones of Naruto.

The looks of confusion turned into perverse looks as Naruto exited the tent and stood next to Sakura.

A single glare from Sakura prevented the clones from any further action.

Sakura stepped away from the tent, Naruto followed close behind.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto chuckled in an attempt to relieve the tension.

"Ah was there something you wanted to talk about Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura's shoulders drooped at the sound of Naruto's voice. She took in a deep breath and turned her head to the ground.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah Sakura-Chan?"

"Can you promise me something."

Naruto blinked slowly.

"What is it Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura looked at Naruto with a pleading look.

"Promise me I won't lose you too."

Naruto opened his mouth, but quickly closed it. He slowly turned his head away from her. He turned his head back when he felt a tug on his shirt.

"Naruto," Sakura whispered, "When I thought you died, I was so scared. I felt alone. I lost one of my closest friends." Her grip tightened on his shirt, as tears started to fall from her eyes. "My family fell apart again."

Sakura looked into Naruto's deep blue eyes.

"I lost Sasuke-kun, but I could never imagine I'd lose you as well. With you gone, Team 7 was dead. You were dead, and you could never bring back Sasuke-kun."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as Sakura looked at the ground and let go of Naruto's shirt.

"So Naruto, can you promise I won't lose you? Please?"

Naruto looked at his pink haired companion, and closed his eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he let out a short breath.

"Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura's head snapped up.

"I promise that as long as I am Uzumaki Naruto, I will be here to protect you!" Naruto sternly proclaimed.

Sakura wrapped Naruto in a bone crushing hug as she buried her face in his chest, weeping.

Shocked, Naruto slowly started to hug her back.

'I see you've become wise my pitiful host.'

Naruto closed his eyes and grimaced.

'When I take over, you will leave and not break your promise,' The Kyuubi taunted in Naruto's mind. 'Maybe with your newfound wisdom you will see that there is no hope for you. Your mind can't help you, you aren't powerful enough.'

"Hey Sakura-Chan, you should go back to sleep," Naruto cheerfully said, "I need to create some more shadow clones real quick to cover watch."

Sakura pulled away from their embrace, and wiped the tears from her eyes, she looked up at Naruto, who was wearing a large smile.

"Make sure you're ready for tomorrow!" Naruto said as he started to walk away from her, "In less than twenty four hours, we'll have Sasuke back!"

A small smile came to Sakura's face as she watched Naruto's back disappear into the wooded area. She turned to return to her tent, and nearly shrieked at the face of her temporary sensei.

"Sorry to break you from your post-dalliance thoughts, but I need to speak with you."

Sakura's face started to glow red at her sensei's teasing.

"About what, Yamato-sensei?"

"Stop making Naruto make promises to you."

Sakura's embarrassment turned to rage.

"What do you mean stop making him?" Sakura growled as she clenched her fists, "He does it of his own free will!"

"Oh yes, a teenage boy making promises to his crush, how could he say no?" Yamato said flatly, "That would be fine, but he is not just a boy."

Sakura's anger immediately fizzled out, and turned to shame.

"I didn't mean anything by it, Yamato-Sensei."

"I know Sakura, but you have to understand. You are having a person with the power to destroy a country make promises to you. Promises that he would rather die than break."

Yamato crossed his arms and stared at Sakura.

"You may be the Hokage's star pupil, but we need him loyal to Konoha, not a person."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.

Yamato spoke before Sakura could retort.

"Now you should go back to sleep. Tomorrow is an important day, and I need everyone well rested and ready for anything."

Sakura's fists clenched as she walked past Yamato and punched a tree. She returned to the tent, leaving a pile of broken tree parts behind her.

Yamato looked at the poor tree as a single tear came to his eye.

'Why did I get assigned this group?'

* * *

Sai, Sakura, and Naruto watched as a hunched back man in a black cloak with red clouds spoke to a man in a blue cloak.

Naruto gritted his teeth as his fingernails started to dig into his palm. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Sakura giving him a worried look.

"Naruto," Sakura calmly whispered, "Yamato-sensei knows what he's doing."

A low growl came from Naruto.

"This doesn't feel right," Naruto hissed, "Something is wrong."

Sai put on a fake smile and stared emotionlessly at Naruto.

"Ugly is right, Yamato-sensei knows what to do," Sai monotonously said while dodging a punch from Sakura.

Naruto closed his eyes and opened his hands. Looking at his hands, he saw his fingernails were covered in blood. He quickly wiped the blood onto his jacket and stared back at the disguised Yamato.

'I wish I could at least hear what they were saying,' Naruto wishfully thought.

* * *

Yamato frowned as he listened to the cloaked figure drone on about Orochimaru and his supposed plans for the future.

"Get to the point," Yamato grunted out in an attempt to mimic Sasori, "Where is Orochimaru right now?"

The blue cloaked figure started to chuckle as the reached up to their covered face. The figure removed a pair over circular glasses. The figure started to clean the glasses using the inside of sleeve of the cloak. Putting on the glasses, the figure pushed the hood of the cloak slightly back, revealing the face of a man with onyx eyes and ash-grey hair.

Yamato mentally cursed at the man before him, as it was none other than Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru's right hand man.

'Why would Orochimaru's most trusted follower be reporting to Akatsuki?'

"Ah Sasori-sama, I'm not surprised Akatsuki has turned their attention to other things ever since the Kyuubi Jinchuriki died," Kabuto said with a slight smile, his chuckling finally ending.

"In order to replace my imbecile partner, we need Orochimaru's ring to further our ranks, especially since the explosion loving fool destroyed his ring with his foolish mockery of art."

Kabuto smiled as he adjusted his glasses.

"Oh yes, I heard how he disappeared into that forest after the explosion," Kabuto said knowingly, "Unfortunately now you have to replace two members."

"Two members?" Yamato asked puzzled.

Kabuto's hands were enveloped by blue chakra, as he quickly pushed both of them into Yamato's disguise.

"Sasori was killed by that pink haired brat Tsunade has been training," Kabuto smugly said, "Now this leaves some questions, such as who are you?"

A sudden wave of maleveolent chakra shook the area.

Kabuto's smug look turned to one of confusion, and then to understanding.

"It seems tales of Naruto's death were exaggerated, isn't that right, Kakashi?" Kabuto said as he ripped apart the wooden disguise.

Yamato clasped his hands together and stared at Kabuto.

"You're not Kakashi," Kabuto deadpanned

With a smirk, Yamato summoned a pillar of wood to shoot from his body, smashing Kabuto in the face, knocking him back.

Kabuto spit out blood, and moved to attack Yamato with his chakra covered hands, but he saw a flash of red in his peripheral vision. Kabuto jumped back just in time to avoid a large hand made of a translucent red chakra.

A small smile appeared on Kabuto's face as he examined the enraged Naruto.

Naruto's eyes had turned from a deep blue to blood red, with slitted pupils. His body was covered in red chakra that resembled a fox. Behind Naruto were three tails, swishing through the air.

Naruto roared as he slashed at Kabuto with his clawed hand. Kabuto dodged Naruto's clawed hand which had escaped the red shell. Seeing Naruto smirk, Kabuto saw the red chakra claw rushing towards him. He nimbly slid underneath the attack, but was shocked when a red tail of chakra was poised to impale him.

Kabuto prepared for pain, but was surprised when a large snake appeared in front of him. Kabuto heard Naruto start to growl at the interrupter. Kabuto looked behind himself, and saw a pale man with snake like yellow eyes, skin as white as snow, and long straight black hair. His master, Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru," Naruto growled out, hatred filling every syllable of the serpentine man's name.

An inhumanly long tounge spilled from Orochimaru's mouth, and licked his lips.

"Naruto-Kun," Orochimaru said calmly, "I can honestly say this is the first time I have been surprised in a very long time."

Naruto started to shake as his growls deepend.

"I… Will… Kill… You…" Naruto slowly groaned as the ground started to shake and he fell to all fours.

Orochimaru chuckled and raised up his hands while he watched Sakura, Sai, and Yamato fall behind Naruto.

"I do not wish to fight you," Orochimaru said with a small smile.

"Bull shit!" Sakura yelled, "Give us back Sasuke-Kun!"

Naruto lowered himself into a pouncing position at the mention of Sasuke.

Keeping his hands raised, Orochimaru spoke, "You being alive is quite the predicament, and rather unfortunate."

Ignoring the raising killing intent from the Konoha Ninja, Orochimaru continued.

"I would like to make you four and Konoha a deal."

Yamato's eyebrows furrowed as he skeptically looked at Orochimaru.

"What would you have that could possibly stop us from killing you?"

Orochimaru started to chuckle, as if Yamato had suggested that people lived on the moon. These fools killing the great Lord Orochimaru? Preposterous.

"Oh that is just cute," Orochimaru condescendingly said, "You think that an artist, a wannabe medic, a failed experiment, and a failure could defeat me?"

The members of Team 7 flinched at his insult.

"No, I need people to think our dear friend here is still dead, and I would rather not have a destroyed bridge as proof of his life."

Yamato warily eyed Orochimaru, attempting to decode his thought process.

"What is in it for us?" Yamato questioned, ignoring the shocked looks from Sakura and Naruto.

Orochimaru moved his arms in an open gesture, and smiled.

"I'm glad you have something resembling intelligence, my old friend."

Yamato scowled at the man.

Ignoring his reaction, Orochimaru continued.

"For you, I will make sure that everyone believes our angry little fellow was killed in the explosion. With his death, Akatsuki will be forced to delay their plans, or at the very least pull away resources from Konoha, thus preventing any possible large scale attack in an attempt to acquire their needed weapon."

"And what do you get out of this?" Sakura questioned.

Orochimaru's chuckle returned once more.

"Oh I can just imagine how Sasuke will react when he hears the news that his brother was involved in the death of his closest friend."

A large pulse came from Naruto.

"Don't you say his name," Naruto commanded.

Orochimaru brushed of Naruto's comments, and smiled at Yamato.

"What do you say? Deal?"

Wary, Yamato eyed Kabuto, who moved behind Orochimaru, waiting for orders.

"You know we can't trust you."

Once more the laughter of Orochimaru filled the air.

"You are more wise than I thought you were."

The world stood still as Orochimaru had a contemplating look on his face. The tension in the air started to cause Sakura and Sai to start swaying, feeling drained.

The silence was broken suddenly.

"As a gesture of good faith, I will tell you exactly where Sasuke and I will be."

Another wave of chakra rocked the earth.

Orochimaru turned sideways, and pointed straight pass the large bridge.

"Our base is two days travel straight ahead. You can see an unnatural outcropping of rocks about three miles away You can easily enter through burrowing into a lower chamber a mile away from the rocks. If you don't want keep our deal, I will see you in two days, otherwise we will be leaving. Let's go Kabuto"

Orochimaru stepped away from the Konoha Ninja, and was met with the earth shaking.

"No," Naruto growled, his three tails violently swishing in the air, "You aren't going anywhere."

Orochimaru ignored the blonde as he took another step.

The earth shook again.

"Naruto!" shouted Yamato, "Stand down!"

Orochimaru took another step. Naruto stepped forward.

Orochimaru turned his head towards Naruto.

"I'll make sure to tell Sasuke-Kun that you missed him," Orochimaru said as he vanished into a pile of snakes.

Naruto let out a scream that shook world, and placed a deep fear in the hearts of the remaining three ninja.

Sakura stared at Naruto's back.

"N-Naruto?"

Naruto turned his head towards Sakura, who gasped in fear.

His eyes had turned completely red.

Yamato let out a curse as he watched a fourth tail of chakra appear behind Naruto. Sai quickly started to draw in his scroll, while Sakura was frozen in place.

A tear fell from her eyes as she watched Naruto's skin slowly peel off, leaving blood and muscle exposed to the hideous red chakra. The blood started to mix with the chakra, creating a thick blood red cloak in the form of a miniature Kyuubi.

Yamato started to fly through handseals

"Don't do anything I can han-"

Yamato was interrupted by several lions made of ink rushing past him.

The lions dodged and weaved towards Naruto, who simple looked at them. Naruto suddenly let out a roar, sending a shockwave strong enough to destroy the ink creatures and knock over several trees. The Konoha Ninja were barely able to stay standing by using chakra to stay upright.

Naruto slowly looked around, his four tails slowly swaying in the air. He lazily faced the pale boy who dared attack him. His hands and feet started to cause the ground beneath them to disintegrate from the poisonous chakra.

Yamato finished his signs, causing ten large pillars to start rising from the ground around Naruto. As soon as the pillars started rising, Naruto dashed forward, escaping the prison. Yamato frowned as he summoned wooden pillars from the ground in an attempt to catch the possessed boy.

Naruto's tails effortlessly destroyed any of the pillars that attempted to stop him. Seeing the fool that attacked him, Naruto made a bee line towards Sai, who was frozen in place. Naruto moved to strike Sai, ignoring the meaningless attempts at stopping him from Yamato. Naruto's blood red chakra coated claw punched straight through Sai, who simply allowed the enraged boy to attack him.

Yamato let out a cry of anguish, while Sakura took a step back in fear. Sai let out a groan of pain, when suddenly he exploded into a large gush of ink, covering Naruto.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

Naruto turned towards the noise.

Sakura took another step back, as Naruto stepped towards her, swearing she saw the demonic figure smile.

The four tailed Naruto stood up straight and walked towards Sakura. Sakura went to take another step back, but found herself at the edge of a cliff. She lifted her right arm, and punched Naruto in the chest. She let out a scream of pain as the corroding chakra severely burned her hand, while not even phasing Naruto. Tears fell down her eyes as Naruto's clawed hand reached towards her.

Suddenly, a burst of black ink came from Naruto in an attempt to bind him. Ten pillars shot up around him, the ink preventing him from escaping. Naruto growled as Yamato started to do handsigns. He quickly lunged forward and grabbed Sakura by her neck, and started to choke her. Sakura let out screams of pain as the pillars slowly forced the red chakra back. Her vision was clouded by tears, but she could see a smile of pleasure on Naruto's face as the chakra receded.

Naruto's grip loosened around Sakura's neck, and dropped her. Sakura was relieved as she fell to the ground, but her relief was replaced with panic as she watched the cliff in front of her. Naruto had dropped her off of the cliff.

Sakura went to scream, but her throat erupted in pain as the poisonous chakra ate away at her delicate flesh.

Tears fell from her eyes as she awaited her doom.

A loud cry drew her attention, and she turned her head towards the noise, and saw a large black and white bird flying towards her.

The bird caught Sakura in its talons and flew back to the top of the cliff. The bird gingerly dropped Sakura on the ground, and collapsed into a large pile of ink.

Sakura slowly channeled chakra to her hands, and she moved to start combating the corrosive chakra that was attacking her. She looked around and saw Yamato warily standing over Naruto, ready to act. Sakura started to cry as she saw Naruto's destroyed body. The chakra had melted away at his skin, leaving patches of blood and muscle exposed to the air. Naruto's enhanced healing ability was attempting to repair his skin, but it was struggling against the foul chakra that had injured the boy.

Sakura forced herself to stand, and walked to Yamato while healing herself. Yamato looked at Sakura, worry clearly evident on his face.

"Sakura! Are you okay?"

Sakura nodded slowly.

"I-I am f-f-ine," Sakura choked out, "N-N-aru-t-to is ok?"

Sakura coughed after forcing herself to speak.

Yamato frowned.

"I believe he will be okay, but we were lucky."

Sakura stared at Yamato, confused. She nearly died, Naruto went berserk, and who knows how many people could feel the demonic chakra in the area.

Seeing her confusion, Yamato explained himself.

"The Kyuubi seemed more interested in torturing you than he did trying to kill us. I can only assume he was trying to break Naruto even further by having him hurt you terribly. If he had been focused on actually killing us, Sai's trick most likely wouldn't have worked, and we would probably be dead."

Sakura looked around the area.

"Where is Sai, Yamato-Sensei?"

Yamato sighed.

"I have a clone following him," Yamato said tiredly, "It seems he has ulterior motives, and is following Orochimaru. Sakura, could you heal Naruto?"

Sakura nodded and bent over, and started to use her medical jutsu to restore Naruto's skin.

"What do you think Sai wants?"

"I don't know, but I will make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I'm not sure why he saved your life. I assume he did it out of fear of Naruto, if he can even feel anything."

Sakura stopped healing Naruto, and stared at him.

"Do you fear him Sakura?"

Sakura scowled as she started to heal Naruto once more.

"Of course not Yamato-sensei!" Sakura yelled, returning to her normal self, "I know that he would never do anything to hurt me, and that he just needs help with control!"

Yamato smiled at the girl's response.

"Just make sure you let him know that."

Sakura looked down at her teammate, a sad frown appearing on her face.

Yamato put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura, it's important he knows you still care about him. When he finds out what happened, and he will, he is going to be afraid that he has become what everyone told him he was, a monster. Don't try and hide what happened. He needs to know, and he needs to know that we don't care, he is still our hyperactive knucklehead," Yamato said soothingly.

Sakura nodded her head, and Yamato stepped away from her.

"As soon as Naruto is in condition to move, we head back to Konoha. My clone will have Sai returned by the time we make camp."

Sakura let out a shout of confirmation as she steeled herself for one of the hardest conversations of her life.

* * *

The sound of dripping echoed relentlessly in the dark sewer.

Naruto heard a loud chuckle as he slowly floated out of the Kyuubi's cage. He looked inside to see the Kyuubi with a large smile, proud of its recent accomplishments.

"Did you see that boy? You nearly killed her! I always knew you had it in you!" The Kyuubi roared out as it started laughing once more.

Horrified, Naruto slowly stood up and started to run from the beast that tormented him.

He ran and ran and ran, but he could not escape. Ever turn he took, the Kyuubi was there. If he ran away, he would just end up right where he started, in front of his inner demon.

"Face it boy! You will never be able to stop yourself! Next time, I'll break free, and I'll kill everyone you think cares for you! I'll show you how much of a fool you are!"

Naruto fell to his knees, his mind starting to fade, as even his inner consciousness was fading. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate, as the memory of orange bloodshot eyes came to him.

Naruto forced himself up and stared at the Kyuubi.

"No," he whispered.

"What was that boy? I couldn't hear you," the Kyuubi tautned.

"I will. I will not. I will not let you win," Naruto said, exhausted.

The Kyuubi's laughter boomed throughout the Naruto's mind, causing Naruto to grab his head in pain.

"You aren't strong enough, and you never will be," the Kyuubi hissed.

Naruto stood up straight, and raised his fist at the Kyuubi.

"I swear. I will be strong enough to never need your strength again. I will use my own power to save the world!" Naruto slurred out.

The Kyuubi slammed the ground with a fist, causing a shockwave that knocked Naruto on the ground.

"You will never have that kind of power. Your strength will never be enough, and no one can help you, not even that foolish old man."

"Old man," Naruto whispered to himself, "You said you could help me, I guess I'll find out soon. This overgrown throw pillow has made the decision for me."

Naruto laid back into the water, and closed his eyes, thoughts of a very old man who promised control over his demons guiding him to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: SAY WHAAAAATTTT. It's only been a week? I KNOW. I forced myself to write this by promising myself to only breath if I wrote a sentence. This didn't work out, and after passing out, I decided to forgo rewarding myself, and just doing it. Thank you Shia LaBeouf. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Leave a review if you did. Oh and slight warning, it gets a lil nasty near the very end. I didn't make it as bad as I should of, but that's because I like to think I'm a nice guy. Usually anyways.

EDIT: Apparently some people were confused with the ending, so I made a small edit to clarify what was going on. Sorry for the confusion!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything else I intentionally or unintentionally reference. I also had my daily apple. An apple a day keeps the lawyers away. Or was it durians?

* * *

Sai cautiously jumped through the canopy of the forest towards Orochimaru's supposed location. He had a mission, and he intended to finish it. Everything he had trained for was in this moment. To be an extension of his master's will. His mission was simple. Find Orochimaru, and give him an offer he couldn't refuse. A partnership that would end with the destruction of Konoha.

A soft knock echoed through the air. Sai immediately stopped himself, and with deadly precision, threw a kunai at the noise. Hearing a softened thud of a kunai, Sai put his hand on his tanto, and moved to investigate. Carefully jumping from branch to branch, he arrived at his kunai, which had pinned a woodpecker to the tree. Sai turned away, and leapt towards the ground.

Sai was confused as to why despite jumping, he was still on the tree branch. He looked down, and frowned, seeing his feet had been absorbed into the wood. He looked up, and was startled by the face of Yamato.

Yamato clasped his hands together, and a small wooden cage trapped Sai.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Sai stared at Yamato with a blank expression.

"I am going to Orochimaru's to negotiate for the destruction of Konoha."

Yamato blinked slowly as he studied Sai's face.

'I can't believe he would say that flat out,' Yamato thought dumbfounded, 'There has to be something else going on.'

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I was sent by."

Sai suddenly stopped speaking and slowly closed his mouth.

Yamato raised an eyebrow. Sai had been very open just a second ago, what was stopping him now?

A small frown started to grow on Yamato's face as the possibilities went through his head. Was he a spy and trying to lead him on?

'Doubtful, he was handpicked by Tsunade-Sama and trained by Danzo,' Yamato pondered, 'Neither of them would send a spy with our Jinchuriki.'

Yamato's frown deepened. Maybe he found it funny?

An undignified snort escaped Yamato as he stared at the emotionless boy.

'Maybe we could seal one of Naruto's clones into him and give him a personality,' Yamato thought dryly.

Yamato paused, and blinked twice. His eyebrows furrowed, and looked at Sai's mouth.

"Open your mouth."

Sai complied immediately.

"Stick out your tongue."

Suppressing a giggle from the ridiculous sight of Said sticking his tongue out, Yamato raised his right hand in a half ram sign, and let out a small pulse of chakra.

Sai's tongue flickered, and revealed a seal on the top of his tongue.

Yamato sighed as he mentally connected the facts he knew. Sai was personally recommended by Danzo, he appears to have no emotions, and is carrying out a personal mission from a benefactor whose name he cannot say.

With a clasp of Yamato's hands, the cage started to shrink.

"Well Sai, even if you are doing Danzo's dirty work, Konoha still needs you," Yamato said frustrated as parts of the cage started to strangle Sai.

Sai's movements were restricted by the wooden cage as he reached for his neck, slowly falling into unconsciousness.

Seeing his body fall limp, Yamato released his Jutsu and threw Sai onto his shoulder. He turned towards Konoha and stepped off a small wooden platform that extended from the tree branch. Landing hard with Sai on his back, he heard a small groan come from his unconscious student.

"Hopefully you'll feel fine when you wake up," Yamato said to his possibly traitorous student. "Only the gods know what's going to happen when Naruto finds out we're returning to Konoha without even going after Sasuke."

Images of an enraged four-tailed Naruto flashed through his head. With a groan, Yamato looked up to the sky.

'Why do your students have to be such a pain?'

* * *

Faint beeping echoed through the white room, accompanied by a quiet murmur. A ray of light shined through a window onto a sleeping girl's face. The girl frowned, and she squeezed her eyelids tighter, trying to block out the invasive brightness. She grabbed a handful of her long dark blue hair, and moved it to cover her eyes. With a small smile, she snuggled into her pillow.

The sound of a beep echoed through the room once more. The girl groaned, and slowly sat up, her hair falling away from her face, revealing lavender eyes. She looked around the room cautiously.

'Where am I?'

Her eyes scanned the white walls, white floor, white sheets, and white curtain, and she came to a conclusion.

'I'm in the hospital, but how?' she thought.

She looked out the window, and saw her village she so loved. Underneath the window was a beige tray, with a small glass of water, and what appeared to be some type of medical notes. A sudden dryness of mouth came over the poor girl, and she reached to grab the glass, not caring who it belonged to. She greedly drank the water, and nearly jumped at the sound of a couple of familiar voices.

"So you went into the forest, and you were lost for what felt like days."

"Yes Tsunade-Sama," a distinctly masculine voice said, "It was rather peculiar. Time seemed to stretch in the actual forest, but upon arriving at the clearing, time seemed to have returned to our normal flow."

Memories of the forest and the horrors within returned to the girl, as she clenched the glass in her hand, causing it to crack. The sound of the glass caught her attention, and she gently placed the glass back on the tray. She then closed her eyes and stretched her neck, waiting for the voices to continue.

"Interesting," chirped a new voice, "Tell me more about the skeletons that attacked you, Kakashi."

"Well Jiraiya-Sama, Kiba found the first one sitting next to a grand tree. It had carved a message onto the tree claiming that he had failed his mission, and his regrets for chasing a brat into the forest. Upon further examination, it attacked. The skeleton seemed to know me, and I have deduced that it was the remains of one Deidara."

"And what proof of this do you have?" Tsunade questioned, as the sounds of a pencil scratching on paper was heard.

"The skeleton itself said that it knew me," Kakashi explained. "It was also missing the same arm that I removed from Deidara. It can also be assumed that he was going to end his message on the tree with 'I had a blast,' which is very similar to his catchphrase."

There was a moment of silence. The girl leaned closer towards the white curtain that separated her from the rest of the room's occupants, eager to learn more about how she was still alive.

"In his message, Deidara said he was trying to find a brat," Kakashi thought out loud, "but he also mentioned that he scared away a quote unquote little bastard. I would bet that whoever, or whatever this little bastard is had something to do with saving us."

A grunt from Jiraiya echoed through the room.

"Do you think it could have been the puppet you spoke of?"

"No, I remember hearing a trumpet and a loud laughter as well."

"Maybe our little heiress can help us, now that she is awake," Tsunade said in a teasing voice, as a loud squeak came from the girl, who immediately ducked under the covers of her hospital bed.

Metal rings clinked against a rod, as the a curtain was pulled back, revealing Tsunade who was sitting in front of a bed-ridden Kakashi, and a Jiraiya who was furiously writing in a small notebook.

Tsunade held in a giggle at the sight of the poor girl who was covering her face, trying not to show her embaressment at being caught.

"Hinata, there's nothing to be worried about, and you would have found out soon anyways," Tsuande soothingly said.

"A-ah s-sorry Hokage-Sama I-"

Hinata was interrupted by Tsunade.

"As I said, don't worry about it. In fact, it's a good thing you are awake, we actually have some questions that you could answer for us."

Hinata swallowed, and smiled nervously

"I-I'll do my best."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the extra timidness Hinata was showing. Sure she was usually, shy, but not this bad. She looked at Hinata, who slowly came out from under the covers, and mentally facepalmed. Tsunade looked behind herself, and stared at Kakashi, a man known for reading porn in public, and Jiraiya, a self-proclaimed super pervert, and author of said porn. Looking back at Hinata, Tsunade sighed at the sight of Hinata in a thin Hospital gown, very similar to the one Kakashi was wearing as well.

'If it wasn't for the fact that Kakashi sustained an injury to his Sharingan eye, and apparently Hinata did as well, we wouldn't be in this possibly awkward and emotionally traumatic position.'

Tsunade smiled cheekily at Hinata, and closed the curtain between them. Hinata was confused, and strained to hear the quick whispering going on. There was a sudden loud crack, and two gasps of fear.

The curtains opened once more, revealing a cowering Jiraiya, and a sick looking Kakashi. Tsunade smiled as she popped a walnut into her mouth, pouring the dust of the shell into a small plastic cup.

"Don't worry about them, they shouldn't give you any trouble."

A confused look arose on Hinata's face.

"Um about what, Hokage-Sama?"

Tsunade stared blankly at the seemingly oblivious girl.

'I guess I'll not worry her. Maybe she was just overwhelmed from the mission. I need to stop hanging out with Jiraiya.'

"Oh nothing. Now, I need to do some quick tests on your eyes, but please tell me what you remember," Tsunade said as she dug through a cabinet.

"Well, as Kakashi-Sensei told you, time seemed really strange in the forest."

Tsunade turned back to Hinata, and held a finger in front of her.

Focusing on the finger, Hinata continued, ignoring the bright light in her peripheral vision.

"The only thing I noticed was that Kiba-Kun, Shino-Kun, and Kakashi-Kun seemed to be hearing or seeing things, and they were getting increasingly paranoid."

Tsunade let out a short murmur of affirmation, as she wrote down something on a small slip of paper.

"Do you remember seeing anything strange with your Byakugan?" Tsunade questioned.

"Ah, no. Everything seemed normal."

"Kakashi says that you seemed to be in tremendous pain when you used the Byakugan near the ruins, do you remember any of it?" Jiraiya questioned.

Hinata winced as the memory of the blazing pain returned. Tsunade snapped her fingers, causing Hinata to let out a short apology, and focusing back on the imposing woman's finger.

"I, um, remember using my Byakugan when I was surrounded by the sk-skeletons, and my vision instantly going dark," Hinata replied with a slightly trembling voice, the pain still recent in her mind. "It felt as if I was being stabbed with a red hot blade."

With deft hands, Tsunade pocketed her tools, and looked at Hinata.

"And how do your eyes feel now?"

Hinata blinked slowly, and stared at Tsunade.

"They feel perfect. I do not even feel any strain that comes with overuse of the Byakugan," Hinata answered honestly.

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, and then at Kakashi, she then returned her glance to the young heiress.

"Would you mind activating your Byakugan?"

Hinata nodded her head, as the veins around her eyes popped out, signaling the activation of her bloodline.

"And how does it feel now?" Tsunade asked.

A small smile appeared on Hinata's face, as she easily looked around the vision, using the telescopic three hundred and sixty degree vision to her advantage.

"I feel the same as when I am well rested before training or a mission."

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, and had a slight frown as she observed the expressions on her leader's face.

"Um, c-can I ask why you are curious about my Byakugan?"

Tsunade sighed, and motioned for Kakashi to raise his headband to reveal his Sharingan.

A gasp came from Hinata at the horror beneath.

Kakashi's lone Sharingan was completely blood red, the pinwheel pattern nowhere to be found. A small trickle of blood started to flow from the eye, and a small cloud of black started to cover the eye from the outside. Kakashi grimaced as he quickly covered his eye.

Seeing the shocked look on Hinata's face, Tsunade leapt into an explanation.

"For some reason, Kakashi's Sharingan was severely injured for even glancing at where you were standing. He even said he experienced the same hot pain as you. However, his eye has taken an incredible amount of damage."

A look of empathy came from Hinata, and the room seemed to brighten. The three elder shinobi smiled at the loving nature that was so rarely found in shinobi nowadays.

"Now his eye will be fine, so don't worry about it," Tsunade said in an attempt to ease the girl. "We're slowly making progress with research, and should have a way to restore Kakashi's eye in less than a year."

"Is that why we are both here?" questioned Hinata. "Um, I mean in the same room? Because of our eyes?"

Tsunade smiled at the girl.

"Yes, we wanted to do some quick comparisons, just in case you were injured in a similar fashion. Now that we can tell you aren't, we will do some quick tests, and then you should be free to return home."

A somewhat large smile grew on Hinata's face as thoughts of returning home came to her. Oh how great it was to be back.

Hinata's smile turned to confusion. She looked at Tsunade, who returned her look.

"What is it, Hinata?"

"Um, how did we get back to Konoha?"

Jiraiya stood up, and move next to Tsunade.

"That is a very good question, and we were hoping that you knew something about it. Do you remember anything about a tornado?" Jiraiya gently questioned.

Hinata shook her head.

Jiraiya brow furrowed. "No one seems to know anything about the tornado that brought you here. Asuma knows no wind jutsu that resemble it, and not even our most skilled sensor can sense any remaining chakra. It's almost like a tornado just magically decided to drop you off at the front gate."

Jiraiya paused and closed his eyes, memories of his last meeting with Naruto returning. His eyes shot open, and he moved towards the door, clumsily knocking over a tray that was in his way.

"Jiraiya, what's wrong?" Tsunade worriedly asked.

Jiraiya turned around, and stared into Tsunade's brown eyes.

With a straight face, Jiraiya said a single word.

"Magic."

He quickly turned around and fled through the door, mumbling about Naruto's notes.

Tsunade stared at the empty space.

"Magic?"

* * *

Blue eyes flickered to life in the darkness. A hand brushed through golden locks of hair, and rested on a pale forhead. A low groan of pain and exhaustion escaped chapped lips. The popping of joints echoed in the emptiness.

"What happened?" a confused voice whispered.

With eyes finally adjusting to the darkness, the familiar view of the inside of a tent appeared.

With a deep breath, Naruto stood up, and stepped towards the tent entrance. With a gentle push, Naruto stepped out into the forest, and was greeted with the sounds of someone being scolded by a very irate woman.

"We trusted you! Why would you do this to us? Sure, we didn't get along, but I thought you would at least have the decency to see us as comrades! Hell, I was starting to actually enjoy being around you."

Naruto walked towards the voice, and saw the back of his pink haired team mate, who was currently hoisting a pale artist into the air by his collar.

Any chance of a reply was stopped by the unfortunate boy being shook whenever he opened his mouth.

Confused, Naruto looked around the small camp, and saw Yamato tending to a fire and some type of broth, a smile plastered on his face as he listened to the verbal beat down that seemed to have been going on for quite some time.

Naruto's stomach growled as the pleasant aroma of food aussaulted his nostrils.

"Yo Yamato-Sensei, what's for dinner?"

The mood of the camp studdenly turned fowl, and a deafening silence fell upon the group.

A soft thump was heard, as Sai's body was dropped to the ground.

"Naruto," Sakura quietly whispered.

A nervous chuckle escaped Naruto's lips as he looked upon the strange expressions on his friends' faces. Sai had a look of fear plaguing his face, while Yamato had a strange weariness. Looking closer Naruto saw that Sai's hand was on his tanto, while Yamato attempted to discreetly perform hand seals.

"Uh, guys, what's going on?" Naruto said as he looked behind himself, worried he was being sneaked up on. Looking back at his team, a feeling of dread came upon Naruto as he saw Sakura's back.

"Sakura, why are you facing that way?"

Naruto watched as Sakura's arms moved from her side to in front of her.

"Sakura? What's going on?"

Naruto took a step forward, a soft sliding of metal was heard, as Sai stood in a defensive stance.

"Sakura, answer me," Naruto said worried. Taking another step forward, Naruto heard the sound of earth being moved, as he saw two small tendrils of wood beside Yamato.

"This isn't funny anymore," Naruto said angrily. "What's going on, Sakura, turn around."

Naruto's keen eyes saw a small flash of light, as a small teardrop fell to the ground in front of Sakura.

Rage burst onto Naruto's face. With a large step forward, Naruto roared out.

"Turn around and answer me now!"

Sakura winced at Naruto's harsh voice, and turned.

Naruto stepped closer, now within arms reach of Sakura. He looked at her and started to growl.

"Who did this to you?"

Sakura clutched her throat, covering the chakra burns that marred her skin. Naruto turned to Sai.

"Was it him?"

Naruto took a step forward, a predatory glare in his eyes.

"No."

Naruto turned to Sakura. Green eyes meeting red.

"It was you."

Naruto stiffened and took a step back.

"W-w-wh-what?" Naruto stuttered.

"You lost control of the Kyuubi's power and started to attack us," Sakura said as she choked back tears. "The Kyuubi tried to strangle me, and burned me with its chakra."

Naruto stepped backwards, away from Sakura.

"I-I I. I'm."

Horror covered Naruto's face. He hurt Sakura? He burned her. He lost control, and nearly killed one of his closest friends. What was he.

"I'm a monster."

Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by a loud shout, as he felt a sudden collision and fell to the ground.

Looking up he saw Sakura hugging him tightly.

"You're not a monster. It's not your fault," Sakura weeped. "Orochimaru manipulated you. It's his fault. Don't ever say you're a monster. You are Uzumaki Naruto, one of the kindest, nicest, and most genuine people I have ever been honored to know."

Sakura looked into Naruto's blue eyes, and smiled.

"I'm not going to lose you to anyone. Not even yourself."

Naruto stared back at Sakura, as a large grin grew on his face.

"Yeah yeah, you won't ever lose me, because no one will beat me! Not even the Kyuubi!"

Sakura smiled at his returned enthusiasm. She stood up, pulling Naruto up with her. She let go of him and walked towards the tent.

"Well I know you just got up, but I'm tired and we have a big day tomorrow. You should go to sleep too, well if you aren't wired from sleeping for over a day."

Naruto smiled and waved at Sakura as she retreated into the tent. Looking behind himself, he saw Sai trapped in a large wooden cage. Turning towards the campfire, he saw Yamato scoot over and motion for him to sit next to him.

Naruto's smile vanished as he sat down next to his temporary sensei.

"What happened?" Naruto questioned.

"How much do you need explained?" Yamato replied.

"I don't remember anything that happened at the bridge. What did I do?" Naruto questioned.

Yamato studied Naruto's face, and grunted.

"You lost control."

"That much is obvious."

Yamato glared at Naruto, who simply stared back, not unnerved in the slightest.

"The contact that Sasori had turned out to be Kabuto. When we arrived, he saw through my disguise, saying that he already heard that two members of Akatsuki had perished, as well as the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki."

Naruto's eyebrow raised. He was fairly certain he was alive.

"You then attacked Kabuto in your three tailed mode, revealing you were alive, as well as luring out Orochimaru from hiding. Orochimaru then made us an offer that Konoha couldn't refuse."

"What do you mean? What does Orochimaru have that could possibly let him get away!" Naruto hissed.

"You."

Naruto eyed Yamato as if he had gone insane.

"What do you mean me?"

Yamato exhaled slowly.

"Simply put, everyone currently thinks you are dead, except for the Kazekage, and Konoha. Because of this Akatsuki no longer has a reason to target Konoha, or you. This means we shouldn't have to worry about any major attacks, and this will hopefully save hundreds, if not thousands of lives."

A look of understanding came to Naruto's face.

"As much as you don't want to accept it, your life, or rather your current lack of life, is more important than Orochimaru's petty meddlings. Because of this, we are returning to Konoha."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but closed it.

"I know you want to bring back Sasuke, and you want to fulfill your promise to Sakura, but think of it this way. With Akatsuki no longer hunting you, you have plenty of time to get stronger to defeat Orochimaru. Sasuke will still be here, and you will be able to save him at a later time."

Naruto looked at the ground, and slowly closed his eyes, thoughts of his closest friend filled his mind, followed by the burns left on Sakura's throat.

"Yamato-Sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"I want to get stronger, and I don't want to rely on the Kyuubi's power anymore."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me," Yamato replied with a small smile. "As soon as we return to Konoha, I will speak with Kakashi, and figure out a training regimen for you. I'll make sure that even during your training, the Kyuubi will not have a hold on you."

Naruto smiled and he slightly bowed his head.

"Thank you Yamato-Sensei! I'll make you proud!"

Yamato chuckled at the enthusiastic young boy he knew.

"Ah well, using the furball's chakra always makes me tired, no matter how much I sleep, so I think I'll go to bed! Good night Yamato-Sensei!"

Naruto put his hands on the back of his head as he walked to the tent.

"Naruto?"

Naruto looked back at Yamato.

"The Kyuubi will not appreciate you turning away from his cancerous gift. Be caucious."

Naruto snorted.

"Bah, what's the worst that waste of space could do?"

* * *

Naruto grimaced as his kunai started to give out to the large sword he was blocking. A tall humanoid creature made of shadow brought back its sword, and slapped with the flat side of the sword, sending Naruto flying through a wall.

Naruto's body bounced along the road, and ended in a large pile of rubble. Coughing and weezing, Naruto stood up, and looked around at the burning village.

He watched as fire consumed everything he once loved. Dodging a swipe, Naruto pushed the shadowy creature away, and summoned a clone. Holding out his hand, he quickly created a spinning ball of chakra. The clone vanished, and Naruto rushed the black monster.

"Rasengan!"

The blue ball connected with the monster, sending it spiraling through the air, crashing into the Hokage monument.

With a sigh of relief, Naruto limped forward, looking for any signs of his friends. With labored breath, Naruto climbed over the rubble of a fallen building. Ignoring the screams of pain that filled the dying village, Naruto pressed forward.

Suddenly a large explosion rocked the earth, and was accompanied by screams of terror as a black shadow started to cover the area.

Naruto forced himself into a sprint, ignoring his bleeding leg, which refused to heal.

Dodging rubble, fireballs, and shadowy enemies, Naruto arrived at the explosion. He saw a large clearing, and another shadowy monster that was in the form of a large wolf. With a smirk, Naruto quickly summoned a clone, and created another rasengan. He prepared to rush the beast, but was interrupted when he saw a flash of purple. Canceling his jutsu, Naruto slowly creeped forward, and let out a growl at what he saw.

In the center of the clearing was Orochimaru.

"I know you're there Naruto-Kun, why don't you come out."

Naruto ignored the abomination of a man, and moved along the rubble.

"Now now Naruto-Kun, I won't ask nicely again."

A shriek pierced the air, as the sound of something wet dripping on the floor roared over the destruction.

Naruto looked up, as rage covered him. Red chakra started to seep from his skin, but Naruto forced it back.

In front of Orochimaru was a pale skinned girl, with lavender eyes, and a large gash on her stomach.

'No! Hinata, I'll save you, just wait,' Naruto thought in a calm anger.

"Come on Naruto-Kun, she doesn't have much longer. If you want to save her, you have to do something now."

Naruto stepped out of his hiding place, and jumped into the clearing.

Orochimaru smiled, and started to clap.

"And here comes the hero," Orochimaru sadistically said as he picked up Hinata.

Grabbing her by the neck, Orochimaru brought her close to him, as his tounge shot out, and licked the blood from her stomach wound.

"N-Naruto-Kun, h-help m-me," whimpered Hinata.

Naruto closed his eyes, as he fought off the chakra that tempted to consume him.

Orochimaru's eyes flashed with hunger as he dropped Hinata.

"Well boy? Are you just going to stand there?"

Naruto dashed towards Orochimaru, ready to attack.

As he approached, Orochimaru simply kicked Naruto away.

"Come now, is that all? Show me your true power."

Forcing himself to stand, Naruto rushed Orochimaru again, only to be punched in the stomach, and thrown into a wall.

Naruto let out a cry of pain as he felt his ribs crack.

"Oh we both know that's not all you can do," Orochimaru taunted as he stepped over Hinata. "You're limiting yourself, and you know it."

Orochimaru slowly pushed his foot into Hinata's stomach, causing her intestines to fall out of the widening wound. Her screams of pain were music to his ears.

Naruto limped to Orochimaru, and swung his arm haphazardly at him. Orochimaru simple dodged out of the way, and grabbed Naruto by the throat. He lifted the blonde into the air and started to laugh.

"Oh I see, you want to use your own pitiful ability, don't make me laugh," Orochimaru snidely hissed. "I guess you wanted to freely give me your world."

A sword materialized in Orochimaru's hand as he slammed Naruto into the ground.

Naruto coughed as Orochimaru stood overhim. The snake like man slowly started to pierce Naruto's throat with the sword.

"Without my power you will never win," Orochimaru said as his eyes turned blood red, and his hand turned to a claw. "You are weak, pitiful. Your strength is nothing."

Naruto grabbed the sword, and stood up. Closing his eyes he pulled the sword from his throat.

"I don't need you, and I never will. Now. Leave. Me. Alone."

A deep laughter echoed throughout the air, as the world started to fade into black.

"I'll see you soon, pitiful brat."

Opening his eyes, Naruto saw the familiar green tent. He slowly sat up, and rubbed his throat. Taking in a deep breath, he looked around and saw he was in the tent alone. Two minutes later, he stood up, and left the tent, nearly blinded by the sunlight. He waved to Sakura and Yamato, and chuckled at Sai, who was sitting in the small wooden cage.

'I need to get stronger.'

* * *

A/N2: Well if someone pushing their foot into someone's stomach doesn't make you queasy, I guess you'll be fine for the rest of the story. I blame violent video games such as Hello Kitty: Island Adventure for my terrible mindset. Oh and I don't own that either you crazy lawyers. If you liked it, leave a review! Yes I did it twice. Deal with it. Or not. I'm not Howie Mandel and this is not deal or no deal. I need to stop before I get sued.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: WOW! My tenth chapter. I'll be honest, and say I never thought this would happen. I'd like to thank all of you for this tremendous honor, and I pledge to use my earnings to better the cause of the greatest organization in the world, The Banana Bunch. But in all seriousness, thanks for reading along, and giving me motivation to continue this thing. If all goes as planned, we get to have another party next chapter after we possibly break 50K words. Of course now that I said that I'm going to be short by three words. Oh well, It will all work out in the end. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and leave a review if you did!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Legend of Zelda. 10 chapters doesn't change that, and if it did, I'd be sharing ownership with a lot of people.

* * *

Pink eyebrows twitched in annoyance as tired green eyes stared into the dark morning. A sudden breeze sent a torrent of rain into the poor girl's face, causing her sopping wet hair to stick on her face.

'Why did it have to rain last night? I should be at home in my warm bed.'

Sakura glared at team, disdain for their forethought for bad weather. Sai was wearing a light jacket made of ink that was turned waterproof through chakra, Yamato was using his mastery over water chakra to divert water away from him, and Naruto created a clone which transformed into a large umbrella to protect him from the rain.

Sakura glared at the back of her temporary sensei. Not only had he prevented Naruto or Sai from helping her, she was pretty sure he was using his chakra to send most of the rain towards her.

'Forgetful he calls me, should have been prepared he said,' Sakura thought as she moved her hair from her eyes, 'Next time he needs help, I'll tell him he should have been prepared.'

Her eyes met Naruto's. He gave her a sad look, and started to slow down. He returned to pace after he was slightly out of eyesight of Yamato. He formed a half ram seal and started channeling chakra. There was a loud snap, and Naruto let out a hiss. He shook his hand in pain as he eyed a long tree branch dirtily.

Sakura groaned and looked at Yamato, who stared back with a neutral face. Another downpour of rain curved around Yamato's body, and splashed Sakura's face.

Letting out a barrage of curses, Sakura let out a pulse of chakra. Sakura smiled as she felt a relief from the pestering rain.

The sound of leaves rustling filled her ears. Looking up, she saw large amounts of water that had been collecting on the leaves rushing towards her. With a sigh of defeat, she closed her eyes as the water collapsed on her, nearly forcing her to the ground. Looking up, she saw the backs of her teammates steadily moving on as she composed herself. Her shoulders slumped as she quickly caught up to her team.

'Why did it have to rain?'

* * *

Tsunade hummed as she took a sip of tea. Quickly flipping pages on her research, she returned her hand to cradle the warm glass. She let out a breath and looked out the window at her village, and the people who were rushing about, trying to finish their afternoon errands in the harsh rain. A faint smile came to her face at the comforting sound of the rain.

'Ah, why can't it always be this peaceful?' Tsunade thought as she took another sip.

A loud crash sounded through the room.

"Tsunade-Sama!"

The sudden noise caused Tsunade to jolt in shock, and sent her hot tea all over her face and chest. Tsunade let out a hiss of pain. She quickly used the lower part of her green jacket to wipe the scalding liquid off her face.

"Oh no."

Tsunade's brow furrowed, recognizing the voice as her assistant Shizune.

"Oh dear, are you okay Tsunade-Sama?" Shizune nervously asked.

Shizune chuckled nervously as Tsunade wiped around her eyes. Tsunade paused and moved her jacket slightly below her face, as a loud crash of thunder filled the room and a bolt of lightning struck outside the nearby window.

Shizune started to slowly back out of the doorway, preparing to flee for her life.

"Shizune, this better be important, I was in the middle of some research on Kakashi's eye."

"Oh? I was curious about that," Shizune replied, "Do you think he'll be fine?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and smirked at Shizune.

"Worried about the scarecrow are you?"

Shizune stared blankly back at Tsunade, whose shoulders fell.

'I don't get to have any fun around here. Why did I take this job?'

Looking back up, Tsunade sighed.

"From what I have read, his eye seems to be fine, but there is some sort of barrier preventing him from seeing. It appears as though something has happened to cause a thin wall of blood to exude from the blood cells in his eye to prevent him from seeing. His actual eye seems to be perfectly fine, and all we need to do is figure out how to stop the blood cells from creating the obstruction," Tsunade explained.

"Fascinating," Shizune said in amazement, "Maybe Naruto can tell us about the forest when he gets upstairs."

"Yes, that'd be very helpful"

Tsunade picked up the small tea pot from her desk, and motioned it towards Shizune, who shook her head. With a shrug, Tsunade started to pour herself a cup of tea. After her tea was filled half way, she set down the pot, when a look of realization came to her face.

"Shizune?"

"Yes Tsunade-Sama?"

"What did you mean when he gets upstairs?"

"Team 7 has returned from their mission and will be here within ten minutes for their debriefing."

Tsunade's face was overcome with worry.

"They are at least five days early, what are they doing back?" Tsunade questioned in a frenzy, "Is Naruto okay?"

Shizune smiled at the love Tsunade had for the blonde boy.

"He is fine Tsunade-Sama, they all are," Shizune said reassuringly. "Although Sakura was soaking wet."

"Why was she wet?"

Before Shizune could answer, a loud crash was heard in the hallway followed by a familiar voice.

"Come on Sakura-Chan! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go get some ramen!"

In sync, Shizune and Tsunade laughed.

"That boy sure knows what he wants, doesn't he Shizune?"

"Yes he does. Ramen and the Hokage's hat."

Tsunade snorted.

"Hopefully he is ready for this position soon, I want to be able to just sit back at home and enjoy myself for once."

"Wasn't it last vacation you couldn't stop complaining about how bored you were?"

Tsunade at Shizune, sending her a look questioning if she had heard her right. Tsunade opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a loud slam on her door, followed by a barrage of curses from what could only be her favorite blonde knucklehead.

Shizune let out a short thank you to whoever was watching out for her, and opened the door, allowing Naruto to fall into the room while a face palming Sakura watched on.

"Well here they are Tsunade-Sama, I will leave so you can debrief them. Have fun!"

Tsunade watched the dust cloud left from her apprentice settled, leaving her newest apprentice and Naruto coughing.

"Baa-chan, you should really dust in here y'know?"

Tsunade froze for half a second, before staring back at the blonde teen.

"Maybe you should do it for me every day instead of going out on missions."

Naruto turned white as snow, fear overtaking him. He quickly fell on his hands and knees, and pressed his head on the ground in a bow.

"Tsunade-sama I am sorry, I won't ever talk about your dusty office again."

Tsunades grin turned to a scowl at the jab. She started to crack her knuckles and grind her teeth.

"Oh look," Sakura staid, "Yamato-Sensei and Sai are here!"

Tsunade turned her attention away from the snickering blonde and looked at a drenched Sakura, a smiling Sai, and a stoic Yamato.

"Yamato?"

"Yes Tsunade-Sama?"

"Why is my apprentice dripping wet?"

"She forgot her rain equipment."

"And why didn't you assist her?"

"She refused to accept help and insisted on learning from her failure to prepare."

Tsunade looked at her pink pupil who was staring at Yamato, mouth wide open.

"Is that so?"

Sensing his end drawing near, Yamato tried to save himself.

"No, Tsunade-Sama. I was just seeing if it truly was impossible to trick you."

Tsunade stared at Yamato. Did she really send such a bad liar to fool an Akatsuki informant?

"I don't want to know, just don't do whatever it was again," Tsunade said with a glare.

Yamato nodded in response.

"Now, will you come in my office, or are you just going to stand outside all day?"

Tsunade sat back at her desk, and watched with a slight smile as the four ninja moved into the room. Tsunade opened a drawer on her desk, and removed a pen and notepad.

Yamato stepped forward.

"There were some-"

He was cut off by Tsunade coughing who was pointing at the open door. Yamato quickly nudged Sakura, who in turned nudged Naruto, who then nudged Sai.

Sai smiled emotionlessly at Naruto, who let out a defeated huff, and moved to shut the door.

"You can start now," Tsunade said

With a nod, Yamato resumed.

"There were some complications in the middle of the mission, but it would be best to start at the beginning."

* * *

Tsunade stared at her notes, while the pen in her hand threatened to break from overbending. She closed her eyes as she thought about the information given to her, and what it meant for the future of Konoha.

On one hand, Konoha was now safe from further targeting as long as Naruto did not leave the village, and remained under strict watch. On the other hand, they had to trust Orochimaru.

Tsunade started to speak, but stopped herself as she observed Naruto. He was looking out of the window into the village, a somber look on his face.

"What do you think, Naruto?"

Naruto, startled by the mention of his name, turned his gaze to Tsunade.

"Sorry, what did you say baa-chan?"

Ignoring the nickname, Tsunade asked again.

"What do you think, did your team do the correct thing?"

Naruto looked out the window once more. He watched as many small figures moved about. Some moving together as family or friends sharing umbrellas, while others moved quickly between whatever cover there was from the rain. A small smile came to his face at his beloved home. The smile faded as he thought of the question. Was it the right choice?

He watched as what had been a storm slowly faded to a calm rain. The peaceful scene etched itself into his mind. He observed as a young woman with long brown hair held back with a Konoha head band left the tower. A young child, no older than four years of age was standing in front of her with a black haired man holding an umbrella. The child ran towards the woman, who knelt down and picked up the child in a hug. The man moved forward and covered the woman and child with the umbrella. He then hugged the woman, and kissed her.

Naruto averted his gaze from the family's happy moment. He felt a pang of envy at what he would never have. He looked back at Tsunade, his envy turned to guilt.

"It was the right thing to do," Naruto said, his voice slightly trembling.

Tsunade eyed Naruto critically.

"And why is that?"

Naruto took in a deep breath as he collected his thoughts.

"Even though he is my best friend, it wouldn't be fair to say he is worth more than the lives of the villagers."

Naruto paused, and turned his eyes back to the family, who were slowly walking out of sight.

"If my 'death' protects them all, I can wait and get stronger so I no longer have to hide, and can save everyone."

Tsunade inwardly smiled at his answer.

'It seems he has matured,' Tsunade thought proudly 'I just hope he doesn't change too fast.'

"I agree with you Naruto," Tsunade said, "Even though it is Orochimaru, he can be somewhat trusted, especially given his reasoning. The benefits for him greatly outweigh those for us, while not directly causing us any harm.

Tsunade looked back at her notes and then back at Team 7.

"Naruto, Sakura, you are dismissed."

Naruto and Sakura nodded as they moved towards the door.

"Oh, and Kakashi would probably like to see the two of you."

The two faced Tsunade once more.

"Where is he, sensei?" asked Sakura.

"He is in the hospital."

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other, their eyes wide open.

"What do you mean he's in the hospital!" The two yelled at the same time.

Realizing what she had just started, Tsunade banged her fist on her desk, getting the two's attention.

"He is fine, we are just running a few tests on him to make sure there are no lasting effects from a trap he and Hinata were struck by."

A pop echoed through the room. Tsunade looked at Naruto's hand, and saw his fist tight, and blood starting to seep from his hand.

"Hinata is perfectly fine, even better than Kakashi, she was just exhausted," Tsunade said, quickly defusing a possible situation.

Naruto let out a deep breath, as visions of his nightmare subsided.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura asked.

Naruto unclenched his fist, and looked at his teammate.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just had a bad dream involving Hinata," Naruto responded, "It wasn't very good."

Sakura grabbed and pulled Naruto's wrists and smiled.

"Well come on, we can go visit Kakashi-Sensei, and then see Hinata."

Naruto nodded as Sakura pulled him through the door.

Tsunade smiled as her young protégé and surrogate grandson left.

Her smile was replaced with a stern gaze as she stared at Sai.

"Now what are we going to do with you?"

* * *

Naruto smiled as he watched Sakura fret over Kakashi. Sakura was reading every record of his stay, while simultaneously trying to examine his eye.

"Kakashi-Sensei, what caused this to happen?" Sakura questioned

"As I told you before Sakura, I'm not sure, although I do appreciate the extra effort."

"Well something had to happen. Tell me what happened again."

"I was fighting off Deidara's skelton."

"Alright."

"And I heard Hinata scream in pain."

"Okay."

"I then turned to her while my Sharingan was activated, and I felt a massive pain in my eye and then fell unconscious."

"Anything else?"

"No Sakura, I'm not sure what happened. Those woods were haunted."

Kakashi paused for a second and turned his head towards Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Yeah Kakashi-Sensei?"

"Do you remember any place in the woods that had collapsed walls and lots of marble pillars?"

Naruto closed his eyes as he thought back to his time spent with Hakkai.

"The only place I can think of would be the temple," Naruto replied, "There were some broken down walls and pillars I saw on my way out."

Kakashi blinked slowly, to the dismay of Sakura.

"Was there a cobblestone path leading down a small slope towards the temple?"

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Kakashi.

"I don't know what it was made out of, but yeah that sounds 'bout right."

"Last, was there a stone pedestal?"

"In the path? No. But there was a sword in a pedestal in the temple. It looked really important."

Kakashi leaned back in his bed, only to be pushed forward by an agitated Sakura.

"My best guess is that you were right about only specific people can see it, and those who try and see it go against some type of defense mechanism."

"Really, sensei?" Sakura replied annoyed, "You told the story how many times and you didn't see that?"

Kakashi glared at Sakura with his one good eye.

"Sakura, I may be in the hospital, but I am still your sensei, I will no-"

He was interrupted as Sakura put a tongue depressor in his mouth and examined his throat.

"Wha 're oo ookin or?"

"I don't know," Sakura replied flatly as she removed the flat stick from Kakashi's mouth, "I'm just hoping it's something obvious so you can be back out there instead of leaving us with Yamato-Sensei again."

"He's not that bad," Kakashi defended, "I really like him!"

Naruto snorted.

"He spent most of our walk back talking about his favorite types of pine trees," Naruto stated.

"Yeah, and on the way there, he wouldn't stop giving us this really creepy look whenever we talked!" Sakura loudly exclaimed.

'I forgot he did those things,' Kakashi thought with a mental snicker.

"Oh come on, it couldn't have been that bad."

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, and then stared back at Kakashi.

"Look I'm sorry, but I was assigned a mission, and I wasn't about to argue about where I thought I was needed."

"Honestly," Naruto started, "I'm happy you weren't there. I don't want to think about what would have happened if Yamato-Sensei wasn't there."

Kakashi looked at his students, puzzled. He watched as Naruto glanced at Sakura, and then stared at the ground, while Sakura rubbed her throat. Looking closer at his student, he saw small black marks on her throat.

"What happened?" sternly questioned Kakashi.

Naruto and Sakura jumped at the authority in Kakashi's voice.

"W-well," Sakura stuttered, "you see th-"

"I lost control," Naruto interrupted.

Kakashi slowly closed his eyes as a small frown came to his face. He opened his eyes, and saw Naruto meeting his gaze, a look of regret and determination emanating from his eyes.

"I was not strong enough on my own, and I let my anger get the better of me. I ended up relying on that stupid fox, and I paid for it."

Naruto glanced at Sakura and looked back at Kakashi.

"I let my own weakness and faults get the better of me, and it hurt my friends, but I'll never let that happen again! That's a promise of a lifetime, -ttebayo!" Naruto shouted as he pumped his fist in the air.

His proclamation was cut by Sakura's fist colliding with his head.

"Stop yelling you idiot! We're in a hospital!"

Kakashi chuckled as his two students squabbled. A couple of minutes passed, and he decided to interrupt before their fighting escalated.

"That's quite the promise, but how are you going to go through with it?"

Naruto stared at Kakashi, while Sakura stopped shaking him by his collar. He quickly stood up and brushed away Sakura.

"I need your help. Could you train me?"

Kakashi smiled at his student.

"Of course I would, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto let out a shout of victory and pumped his fist.

"There's just one problem."

A worried look came upon his face and he looked back at Kakashi, who leaned back into his hospital bed.

"What's that, Kakashi-Sensei?"

Kakashi slowly blinked at his student.

"I'm in the hospital."

Naruto face palmed.

'How could I forget? Who knows how long he'll be in here? If only there was someone else who could help.'

Naruto's eyes brightened and he looked up from his palm.

"Do you know if Ero-Sennin is around?"

Kakashi sighed.

'Why does Jiraiya get the spotlight? It took Naruto five seconds to forget about me training him.'

"Sorry, Naruto, the last I saw he was running off after I mentioned the forest being magic."

Naruto blinked and cocked his head.

"Do you know where he was going?"

Kakashi scratched his chin.

"I could have sworn it looked like he was headed to your apartment, but I'm not so su- where did you go?" Kakashi said as he stared at the empty spot the blonde had been previously occupying.

* * *

'Stupid Ero-Sennin,' Naruto thought as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop towards his home, 'Please don't be doing what I think you're doing.'

Six minutes later, Naruto landed in front of his apartment complex, and headed up the stairs towards his apartment.

Giving short hellos to his neighbors, he hastily entered his apartment.

Once inside he frowned.

His living room look liked it had just been cleaned.

Stepping further into his apartment, he saw a large paper bag sitting on his kitchen counter. Walking over, he opened the bag to find several packages of instant ramen, and a note on top.

Picking up the note, Naruto started to read it aloud.

"Your welcome for the food, brat. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just focus on your training and enjoy having Sasuke back. I believe in you, Jiraiya."

Naruto smiled at the note, and gently placed it on the countertop. His smile was replaced with a frown.

'What did he mean don't worry about him?'

Confused, Naruto moved from his kitchen and into his bedroom. Seeing nothing out of place, besides everything being put away, he moved to his living room. Looking around his living room, Naruto noticed that his study area seemed larger than he remembered.

Walking over, Naruto saw several loose pieces of paper scattered on top of some ancient leather-bound books. Naruto gathered the papers, and put them in a somewhat neat pile on an empty space of the desk. He picked up the top book, and looked at the title.

'The Legend of the Seven Sages? What's this about?'

Naruto opened the book and instantly saw a red pen circling three words; sage, forest, and song.

Naruto stared at the red ink. After a couple of seconds, he turned towards the stack of paper, and saw red circles.

Quickly scanning the notes, Naruto frowned.

'All these notes have the word Sage circled. What does it mean? I know he was given the title, but does he really think that's the key?'

He looked through the titles of his notes, and saw there was a section entitled _The Song of the Forest_.

Naruto frowned as he looked back at the old tome on his desk.

'Whatever you're doing Jiraiya-sensei, please be safe.'

* * *

Jiraiya waved goodbye to his summoned toad as it disappeared in a puff of smoke, returning to his home. He looked around himself, and saw the crater that Kakashi had described.

'Now all I have to do is get myself nice and lost. Where to start?'

Looking around Jiraiya slowly breathed in, calming himself, and allowing the vibe of the forest to flow over him. Closing his eyes, Jiraiya felt himself starting to be dragged along the ground. He felt a steady vibration flow through the ground. He opened his eyes, puzzled, and looked down to see his foot tapping, as though he was listening to music.

Closing his eyes once more, Jiraiya focused on his foot tapping. A smile came to his face as he heard three notes ring out in the air. Turning his head towards the sound, he opened his eyes. Looking into the forest, he saw strange shimmering, and an unnatural movement of leaves.

'Bingo.'

Jiraiya walked forward into the darkness of the forest, as time started to lose its meaning. He blinked hard as he felt a strange wooziness come over him.

'If this isn't the right way, I'm not sure what would be.'

Taking in a deep breath, Jiraiya couldn't help himself from smiling as he felt himself soak into nature. Closing his eyes once more, Jiraiya listened. After what seemed like several minutes, Jiraiya heard a shrill noise that sounded like a trumpet. Turning his right ear towards the sound, he patiently waited. His patience was rewarded as six notes played on trumpet pierced the air.

Turning towards the sound, Jiraiya opened his eyes and saw he was facing the direction he just came.

Without hesitation, Jiraiya walked forward. As he walked, he noticed the foliage was becoming denser. He pushed through the plants and trees, doing his best not to harm them. Shortly after, Jiraiya found himself in the middle of four oddly placed trees. The four trees were placed equal distance apart in a square, and unlike the areas he could see, there were no plants between the trees, not even grass.

Looking at the four trees, he estimated each tree was a half meter away from him. With a smile Jiraiya closed his eyes once more. His method had yet to fail him. Tapping his foot to the beat, Jiraiya instantly heard the forest come alive with the sound of a trumpet, playing a simple but catchy tune.

'This is quite the hot beat.'

Jiraiya opened his eyes and turned to his right and walked forwards, humming along to the music. With a smile on his face, Jiraiya pushed through the underbrush. Closing his eyes, he heard the music still coming from in front of him. With his eyes closed, he followed the sound, resisting the urge to dance along the way.

Feeling himself get lost in the music, Jiraiya smiled as time passed. He did not know how long he wandered while following the beat, but he also did not care. The song picked up rapidly, until there was one last blaring blast of the trumpet.

With the song finally over, Jiraiya opened his eyes, and stared at a wall of pitch black. Fearlessly, Jiraiya stepped through the black, thoughts of his beloved student on his mind.

Coming through the tunnel, Jiraiya saw a small square clearing, just as Kakashi had described. The log with the mysterious writing was there as well. Jiraiya looked around the clearing, with a slight look of confusion.

Kakashi had said that there was only one way through, as the other tree tunnel had collapsed, but Jiraiya could see two paths.

Ignoring the new path, Jiraiya faced the tunnel next to the engraved log. Closing his eyes, Jiraiya listened for the song, but heard nothing. With a sigh, took a kunai out of his pouch.

'Well, my first theory was right. Hopefully the second one is as well.'

Pricking his thumb with the razor sharp kunai, Jiraiya flew through hand seals.

"Summoning jutsu!"

A large puff of smoke enveloped the clearing, as a quiet coughing was heard.

As the smoke dissipated, two small toads stood in the center. One had green, white hair, a white goatee, and was wearing a brown cape, while the other had pale green skin, with purple markings around her mouth and the back of her body and head.

"Ah, Jiraiya!" Said the white haired toad in shock, "Did you need something?"

"Maybe he was hungry To-chan," the purple toad replied, "Come Jiraiya we were just about to eat din- this place is not natural."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrow at the abrupt change in mood. He watched as the two toads stood back to back, and looked around the forest.

"Shima-sama, what do you mean it's not natural?" Jiraiya questioned.

"What my darling wife means, Jiraiya, is that this place has too much nature chakra," the white haired toad replied

Shima nodded.

"Is there anything else, Fukasaku-sama?" Jiraiya asked.

Shima looked up at Jiraiya.

"This chakra feels immensely wild, although it is nature chakra," Shima answered instead of her husband, "I can understand why you summoned us, did you need us to help you enter sage mode?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"Long story short, my research leads me to believe that the only successful way of navigating this forest is to either be chosen by it, or to be a sage."

The two toads nodded in sync.

"Well then, let's get started," Fukasaku said.

Jiraiya nodded as he started to gather nature chakra. He felt power wave of chakra flow over his body. He looked on his shoulders and saw Shima and Fukasaku fused to his left and right shoulders respectively.

"Is it just me, or did that happen nearly instantly?" Jiraiya pondered out loud.

"It wasn't just you," Shima said, "This place is unlike any other."

Jiraiya walked towards the wall of black in the tunnel.

"Here's hoping I'm right."

'For Naruto.'

* * *

A/N2: Go cliffhangers! The next chapter should be out relatively soon, compared to the existence of human life on the earth, at least. Hope you enjoyed. Let me know if you see any grammar or spelling issues.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: And here we are, the eleventh chapter, and along with it, FIFTY THOUSAND WORDS. WOW. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I CAN not. I can't believe it. No. I refuse. I'm not Naruto, I won't believe it. Stop thinking of the joke and just get on with reading. Spend your energy from not thinking of it by making a review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything I reference. Stop thinking of believe it thing.

* * *

Jiraiya slowly exhaled from his nose as he opened his eyes. Looking behind himself, he saw the thick wall of darkness he had just crossed. Fukasaku and Shima had looks of confusion plastered on their faces.

"Dear have you ever seen anything like that?" Fukasaku questioned.

Shima hummed and closed her eyes.

"I can't say I have."

With a huff, Fukasaku faced Jiraiya.

"What do you think, Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya closed his eyes and stroked his chin, frowning as he felt something that shouldn't be there. With his free hand, Jiraiya touched his nose and hissed. He clenched both his hands, grabbing his nose and newly grown beard and fell to the ground.

"Why? Why do I have to be so hideous in sage mode?" Jiraiya sobbed and clenched the grass, "The women will never love me!"

Fukasaku and Shima looked at each other, dumbfounded at the great toad sage's actions.

With a sniffle, Jiraiya stood up, and wiped tears from his eyes.

"It's okay, you can do this," Jiraiya muttered to himself, "This if for Naruto. Get your head in the game Jiraiya."

Jiraiya took a big step forward, chin held high. He opened his eyes, and was suddenly distracted by something large in his peripheral vision. Crossing his eyes, he looked at his much larger nose that was covered in warts.

Jiraiya immediately fell into the fetal position, much to the dismay of Fukasaku and Shima.

"This just isn't fair!" Jiraiya whined, "Great power comes at a price, but this is too much!"

Jiraiya's body started to tremble as he sobbed.

Shima crossed her arms and started to growl, while Fukasaku closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

"Enough!" Shima shouted as a loud smack rang through the forest.

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head as a welt started to form.

"You brought us here for a reason, so stop worrying about your temporary transformation, and let's get going!" Fukasaku yelled into Jiraiya's ear.

Jiraiya gingerly touched his ear as he moved through the forest.

'Sheesh, what crawled up them and died?'

His musings were cut short as he felt a presence behind him. Looking behind him he looked up into the canopy, looking for whatever was watching him.

"Do you feel that?"

Fukasaku and Shima nodded in response.

"Yes, and whatever it is, it feels weird," Fukasaku whispered as he looked at his wife.

"Mhmm, To-chan is right," Shima replied, "It has an empty presence, as if we can only notice it because it is obviously not there."

Jiraiya grunted in agreement. Something was missing from his nearly flawless sensory abilities, leaving a small hole in the trees. He slowly turned around while exhaling from his nose.

"As long as it doesn't try anything, I think it would be best to move on," Jiraiya whispered to his teachers.

The two toads nodded in agreement.

Jiraiya looked at the forest in front of him, and frowned. He closed his eyes and listened. After a minute passed, he opened his eyes with a puzzled look on his face.

'I don't know where to go, especially since the music is gone.'

A slight breeze rustled underbrush to the right of Jiraiya.

Turning his head towards the breeze, Jiraiya's face was overcome with disgust. He quickly clamped his nose shut at a horrific smell.

'Well I would recognize that smell anywhere. A body is decomposing upwind, better check it out.'

Jiraiya walked upwind towards the smell, pushing aside low tree branches and shrubs. A minute of walking later, he saw up torn ground and depressed grass leading towards a small bush, the smell of death greatly increasing.

Steeling himself, Jiraiya moved the bush aside, revealing the rotting corpse of a large animal with grey fur. Jiraiya retched at the sight and smell of the creature, before forcing himself to examine the creature for clues.

Hesitantly, he looked closer, and saw the half decomposed creature resembled a large wolf.

'Just like Kakashi said.'

Jiraiya took out a kunai with his right hand, and moved it towards the beast. He placed the tip of his kunai between the beast's teeth, and slowly moved it upwards. As the skull left the ground, a large piece of fur and muscle fell from the skull, revealing a large amount of maggots consuming the dead flesh.

With a quick look, Jiraiya saw that there were large white balls in the flesh, signifying some type of insect egg laid into creature.

Disgusted, Jiraiya turned his focus away from the dead flesh, and examined the top of the skull. He saw it appeared to be caved in, signifying the beast died to a blow to the head.

'Definetly the same one. This poor thing was most likely killed by blunt force trauma to the head.'

Jiraiya gently lowered the skull back on the ground, and brought his kunai back to himself. He moved to wipe the knife on the grass, but paused when he saw a shimmer in the air. Looking at the shimmer, he saw a small thread of silk connected to his kunai. With his left hand, he gently grabbed the silk, and removed it from his kunai.

Careful not to pull on the thread, Jiraiya leaned in to examine it.

"Strange, I don't sense anything," Jiraiya said with a voice of confusion, "Do either of you sense anything?"

Both toad shook their heads.

"It's more there is too much to feel," Shima said.

Fukasaku nodded his head in agreement.

"She is right. It is as if something is covering the entire area so strongly that we can only detect it, and whatever the anomaly is that is completely vacant in our senses," Fukasaku said while looking at the silk.

Jiraiya absorbed their words as he let go of the silk.

In annoyance, Jiraiya glared at the silk that was stuck to his finger, refusing to move.

"I hate spiderwebs," Jiriaya thought as he shook the silk from his finger.

As he pulled his hand down to remove the web, the sound of the trees rustling filled his ears.

Looking up, Jiraiya saw the silk attached to a large group of leaves and tree branches connected by an intricate weave of spider silk.

A sinking feeling filled Jiraiya's gut, as he looked around the forest ground.

'I've got a bad feeling about this.'

The trio quickly turned towards the emptiness in their sensory abilities, feeling it move. Jiraiya looked above himself and followed the emptiness. His eyes traced the enigma as it moved around him and started to head past the dead beast. The emptiness stopped moving, once again becoming still.

Jiraiya let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"And what was that about?" Fukasaku questioned.

A rustling came from behind Jiraiya.

Shima turned her head and let out a gasp of horror.

Jiraiya turned around, shocked at what he saw.

A spider twice as large of Jiraiya was leaping towards Jiraiya. Its body looked like a white skull, with the spider's head being the teeth.

Eyes wide open, Jiraiya saw the spider was a second away from hitting him. Jiraiya saw a glisten of light on the fangs of the spider, revealing the spider had a venomous bite. With blinding speed, Jiraiya threw a punch towards the spider.

The punch did not connect, but a strong force collided with the spider, sending it flying into the forest completely crushed.

Jiraiya watched in horror as the body disintegrated into a large puff of smoke, obscuring his vision from the rest of the forest.

He readied a rasengan in each hand as the smoke faded. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull as the clearing smoke revealed hundreds of the spiders in the forest. The size of the spiders varied from the size of his foot, to one that seemed to be three times as large as the spider he had just killed. The spiders varied in color, from a pure white, to brown, and even gold.

Contemplating using a large fireball to kill the spiders, Jiraiya shook the thought from his head, not wanting to burn down the forest and getting himself caught in a potential forest fire.

A small series of cracks rang out behind Jiraiya. Looking towards the noise, Jiraiya saw hundreds of small spiders start to erupt from underneath the skin of the dead creature.

Jiraiya hastily examined the forest, looking for a way out.

'Which way, which way!' Jiraiya thought in a panic, 'I can't get lost in here, I need to be careful!'

"Go right Jiraiya!" Fukasaku yelled.

"Right? That would turn us into spider food! Go left!" Shima responded in a louder voice.

The two toads started to argue on which way was the best way, forgetting that Jiraiya's head was between them.

Wincing Jiraiya looked around, disoriented from the two loud toads yelling into his ears.

'I think I'll go-'

His thoughts were interrupted as the sound of a trumpet came from in front of him, past the tree.

'Decision made!'

Jiraiya jumped out of the way of the newly hatched spiders that were attempting to attack his toes, and dashed past the tree towards trumpet, and the source of emptiness in his sensing.

As he moved further past the tree, he heard another trumpet blare, and a rustling came from behind him.

Turning his head, he saw a long flash of light, and what seemed to be a metal claw slashing apart one of the spiders.

Not wanting to risk a closer look, Jiraiya followed the emptiness, which had started to move away.

For what felt like an eternity, Jiraiya chased after the enigma, weaving through the forest, dodging trees and avoiding touching anything that even remotely resembled a spider web.

All of a sudden, the emptiness vanished, being filled with the energy of the forest and leaving no trace of the mysterious creature.

Jiraiya froze, eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar.

'It's gone,' Jiraiya worriedly thought, 'It's gone and now I'm lost in the forest.'

Jiraiya looked at the two toads on his shoulders, who seemed to read his mind.

"It seems we were fooled," Fukasaku said with an air of wisdom.

Shima face palmed, as Jiraiya stared into nothingness. Looking around the forest, Shima cleared her throat, getting the attention of her husband and student.

"Maybe if the two of you would use your eyes instead of the nature chakra, you'd see the obvious answer," Shima said as she pointed at the forest to their left.

With raised eyebrows, Fukasaku and Jiraiya looked towards the forest, confused.

"I don't see anything, what about you?" Jiraiya questioned.

"No I don't either," Fukasaku responded, "I'm afraid Ma may be losing it boy."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement, and was met with a strong blow to the back of his head.

Shima growled at her husband.

"Can't you see the forest is less dense and there is more light over there!" Shima roared, "Obviously it's the edge of the forest!"

Jiraiya and Fukasaku slowly blinked, and compared the forest around them.

"Know that I think about it, yeah there is more light and less trees," Fukasaku contemplated aloud.

Rubbing the back of his head, Jiraiya merely walked towards the light, afraid of the wrath of the old toad.

Trudging forward, Jiraiya walked through the edge of the forest into a large clearing.

Looking around the clearing, Jiraiya's eyes widened at a colossal tree that took up a majority of the area.

'This is it, the ruins should be behind the clearing.'

Jiraiya walked along the outskirts of the clearing looking at the large tree. He eyed the tree with a look of curiosity. He blinked hard twice, and shook his head, nearly hitting the two toads in the process.

"Woah!" Fukasaku exclaimed, "Watch what you're doing there!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Jiraiya said, "It's just for a second I thought I saw a large face on the tree."

The two toads raised an eyebrow.

Jiraiya turned away from the tree and looked for a path to the ruins, but his vision was pulled back. With a look of wonder, Jiraiya moved towards the tree.

Fukasaku and Shima were silent as Jiraiya quickly jogged next to the tree.

Standing underneath the enormous tree, Jiraiya slowly placed his hands on the trunk, and let out a gasp.

As he touched the tree, he suddenly felt incredibly small and ancient, as though he had been in the same spot for thousands of years. A view of the entire forest filled Jiraiya's head, as though he had intimately known the forest since the creation of the earth, and he had personally planted each and every tree. Every blade of grass made its presence known to him as he felt perfectly at peace. Jiraiya started to close his eyes, content to become one with the forest.

Feeling a tug, Jiraiya looked at his right shoulder with half open eyes, and was met with a hard slap to both of his cheeks.

By reflex, Jiraiya clutched his face with both of his hands, removing himself from the tree.

"What was that for!" Jiraiya exclaimed in pain.

"It was for your own good!" Fukasaku retorted.

Jiraiya looked back at the tree, and nodded in understanding.

"Thank you Fukasaku-sama."

"We felt what was happening to you, and couldn't think of a better way to pull you out," Shima soothingly said, "We just wanted to make sure you were safe."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding.

"Well at least something good came out of it!"

Shima and Fukasakue looked at the toad sage in confusion.

"I know exactly where everything is in this forest!"

The two toads smiled and let out a short cheer.

"That's great!" the two said at the same time, "Now where do we go from here?"

"Just around the tree, we're almost there."

Jiraiya moved back towards the forest, and walked around the tree until he saw a large stone archway that was blocked by a large wall of earth. He walked up to the wall, and examined it. He saw that there were numerous scratches in the wall from the undead that had chased his friends.

With a sigh, Jiraiya walked around the blocked arch through some of the trees.

'Unfortunately the undead were smart enough to go around the arch and through the easily passable trees, at least after a few tries of going the intended way.'

Jiraiya continued down the stone road. With every step, Jiraiya felt more energy fill his body, feeling as though he had just finished his morning routine and was ready to face the day.

'That's strange, I have been up for at least twelve hours, having traveled most of that time, yet I feel like I could take on the Kyuubi in a wrestling match.'

Pondering the strange occurrence, Jiraiya followed the path. He was broken from his thoughts by the sight of a large collapsed pillar.

"We're here."

Jiraiya looked at the large pillars and broken walls scattered through the clearing. His eyes skirted around the clearing, forcing himself to not look at the center, fearing whatever had injured Kakashi would end his mission as well.

"Shima-sama, Fukasaku-sama?"

"Yes Jiraiya?" the two replied as one.

"I need the two of you to close your eye, and don't open them unless I tell you too. Kakashi used his Sharingan in this area, and had his eye seriously injured, and we aren't sure what happened. If something happens to me, I need you to take me to Mount Myoboku as fast as possible."

The two toads nodded and closed their eyes.

Jiraiya took in a deep breath, and looked at the ground quickly in an attempt to avoid having his eyes injured. He stared at the path, and started to follow the path downwards into the clearing. With each step, he fought the urge to look up and see where he was going.

'Maybe it just had to do with blood lines? Maybe sage mode is safe? Maybe Orochimaru will stop being an evil bastard and will give up human experiments? Maybe ow!'

Jiraiya's thoughts were cut off as he tripped over a loose stone and landed on his face.

Feeling his mentors starting to summon him away, Jiraiya let out a shout.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!"

The two toads stopped their jutsu just in time.

Jiraiya looked up and blinked slowly.

'That's not a pedestal.'

In front of Jiraiya was a large engraved mahogany door.

Looking around, Jiraiya saw a large building made of marble, with a purple brick roof. The building had several gables, and had large stained glass windows. Above the door was a large triangle that was made of three triangles, or four if the empty middle was counted. Underneath the formation was what appeared to be a rough drawing of a bird.

Jiraiya's mouth slowly opened in amazement.

"Wow," Jiraiya said astonished, "Shima-sama, Fukasaku-sama, look at this temple!"

The two toads opened their eyes and slowly blinked.

"What temple Jiraiya?" Shima questioned.

"Yes, Jiraiya, all I see is a pedestal further down the path," Fukasaku stated in confusion.

Jiraiya looked at the two toads and closed his eyes. Stroking his beard, Jiraiya thought about the current situation.

After a couple of minutes, Jiraiya opened his eyes.

"I want to end the sage mode."

Fukasaku and Shima looked at Jiraiya, worried.

"Alright, we'll do it," Fukasaku said.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," Shima said concerned.

The two toads removed themselves from Jiraiya, whom released the nature chakra he had left.

Feeling his smooth hairless chin, Jiraiya looked back up at the engraved door.

'Strange, I could have sworn sage mode had something to do with it.'

"Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, you can return home now, I don't think I'll need your assistance anymore," Jiraiya calmly said.

The two toads looked at each other, and then back at Jiraiya.

"We hope everything works out. If you need our help just summon us again." Fukasaku said in a concernced voice.

The two toads disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Jiraiya took a deep breath, and looked at the door.

'Here goes nothing.'

Jiraiya knocked on the door, the sound echoing throughout the entire clearing. Ten seconds later, Jiraiya knocked once more.

There was no answer.

Jiraiya stepped back, and prepared to ram the door, when he heard a strange voice.

The voice was saying something in an excited tone, but in a language that Jiraiya had never heard before.

Jiraiya stepped closer to the door, and prepared himself for whatever could be inside the building. He waited patiently as the voice grew louder.

Seven seconds later, the door creaked open, revealing a large ashen skinned man. The man was hunched over and was wearing a blue kimono with a red bird pattern decorating the kimono.

The man's golden yellow eyes opened in surprise.

"I have been getting the most unusual of visitors lately," The man said with a kind smile, "and who might you be?"

Warily Jiraiya answered, "I am Jiraiya, who are you?"

"My name is Hakkai."

The large man eyed Jiraiya.

"And how did you find this place?"

Jiraiya examined the man and felt an overpowering gentleness exuding from the man. The way the man held himself, and the softness of his voice joined well with the kindness the man radiated.

Jiraiya smiled back.

"One of my friends from Konoha was recently hospitalized after a mission to this place, and I wished to follow up on his report and make sure nothing dangerous was in this area," Jiraiya smoothly lied.

Hakkai looked at Jiraiya with a critical eye.

"I see. And is there any other reason you are here?"

Jiraiya returned Hakkai's gaze.

"Mm, yes. My curiosity of whether this place was as magnificent as I heard brought me here as well," Jiraiya answered.

Hakkai smiled.

"I'm curious, who told you of this place? The only people I've seen recently were either unconscious, or did not speak your language."

With an inward huff, Jiraiya looked past Hakkai and into the building.

"I would love to tell you, but I am rather tired from traveling all day and night. Would it be possible for us to discuss this while sitting somewhere indoors?" Jiraiya countered.

"Yes of course," Hakkai politely responded, "I just have one question for you, if you wouldn't mind answering it for me."

Jiraiya's face turned expressionless, his years of training kicking in to help prevent himself from giving away anything.

"And what would that be? If I may ask."

A warm smile broke out on Hakkai's face.

"You wouldn't happen to know an Uzumaki Naruto, would you?"

"I may, why would you like to know?" Jiraiya replied coldly.

With a chuckle, Hakkai stepped back into the building.

"I will take your hesitation to answer, the defensiveness in your voice, and the fact that you weren't surprised by me being here, that you have spoken to him at least as an authority figure, if not as a friend," Hakkai calmly said.

"I do not believe you warrant the trust for me to explain myself," Jiraiya replied, "we have, in fact, just met."

Hakkai chuckled.

"That is true," Hakkai said with a smile, "If I was in the same position as you, I'd say the same thing. However, I would like to know if we have a mutual friend before I allow you into my humble abode."

Jiraiya sweatdropped.

'Humble?' Jiraiya thought incredulously, 'This place is like a castle!'

Jiraiya quickly weighed his options.

Seeing his internal conflict, Hakkai decided to speak.

"If it helps you make a decision, anything you stay will remain with me, as I have been unable to leave the temple in over sixty years."

Jiraiya blinked.

"Sixty years?"

Hakkai nodded.

"Yep. For sixty years I have been the guardian of this temple," Hakkai proudly stated, "If you like, I could give you a tour for free. As long as you reward my honesty with your own."

Jiraiya studied the large man.

'He seems honest enough, and if he truly is unable to leave this place, it shouldn't be too much of a risk to give away a little information.'

"You make a good point," Jiraiya said in faux defeat, "I am Naruto's teacher, and I was worried about him."

Hakkai's smile widened, as he slowly opened up his arms in a welcoming matter.

"Ah! I did not know you were such an important guest!" Hakkai said in excitement, "Please come in! We have many important things to discuss! But first, would you like some tea?"

Jiraiya smiled back at the man, maybe he was trustworthy after all.

"If you would be so kind, I would love some tea."

Hakkai ushered Jiraiya in, whom graciously entered the temple.

"Now while we wait for the tea, I have a great story for you," Hakkai said enthusiastically, "It's about how that Naruto ruined a perfectly nice dinner by crashing through my roof."

* * *

The sound of a kettle echoed through the room, signifying that the water was ready to be used. For a minute, the ringing continued, until an ebon haired teen carefully picked up the pitcher. The boy carried the kettle to a small table, and poured the hot water into a cup with tea leaves sitting in it. When the cup was three fourths full, the teen stopped filling the cup. He placed the hot kettle on a bamboo hot pad. The boy sat down at the table, and looked at the plate next to his cup. On the plate was an onigiri and a sliced tomato.

A small grin appeared on the boy's face as he grabbed a piece of tomato with his chopsticks. Just as the tomato reached his mouth, a knock echoed through the room.

The boy's smile turned to a scowl.

'If this isn't important, someone is going to die.'

The ebon haired teen stood up and moved towards the door to his room. He opened the door, prepared to strike, but was instantly subdued at the snake like eyes that stared back.

"And what do you need, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru smiled wickedly.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, that's no way to treat your master."

Sasuke frowned at the pale man.

Ignoring Sasuke's attitude, Orochimaru continued.

"But that is of no importance. I have some news for you from our spy networks."

Sasuke's eyes opened wide.

"Is it about my brother?"

A dark chuckle came from Orochimaru.

"Oh you could say that Sasuke-kun. It's about Naruto-kun."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed instantly.

"And what news do you have about that idiot? Is he coming to try to rescue me? I may not like it here, but I'm not leaving."

Orochimaru grew a maniacal smile as his laughter filled the room.

"Oh dear foolish Sasuke-kun, I'm afraid that Naruto-kun will no longer be coming for you."

Sasuke blinked.

'What does he mean by that? Did Naruto really give up on me? Good riddance. Now I can focus on Itachi.'

"It's about time he gave up. He must have gotten smarter in the past few years." Sasuke replied with a smirk.

Sasuke's smirk faded as he stared at Orochimaru's unwavering grin.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, I believe you have misinterpreted what I've said, I guess I'll have to spell it out for you," Orochimaru sardonically commented.

Sasuke slowly blinked as a heavy emptiness came upon him.

"Your little team mate had a run in with Akatsuki, and it did not turn out so well for him," Orochimaru said with fake concern, "He fought against Deidara and found himself sorely outmatched."

'No, stop,' Sasuke thought to himself.

"Poor little Naruto ran in and found himself caught in an explosion that not even I could recover from," Orochimaru said sadistically, "My spy network found out that Konoha has been covering up the loss of their Jinchuriki very well, and only the sand village knows about it."

"That's not true," Sasuke said in disbelief, "You're lying to me."

With a sigh, Orochimaru reached into his pouch, and removed a scroll. Orochimaru walked past Sasuke, and placed the scroll next to Sasuke's meal.

"Oh believe what you will, but the proof is right over there. In fact, I believe it will bring back memories. You know he carried it with him after you left."

Orochimaru smiled at the teary eyed Sasuke. He looked down at his empty wrist and smiled.

"Look at the time! I better get going. I need to go inform our allies that Konoha is weak."

Sasuke watched as Orochimaru vanished down the hallway.

Closing the door, Sasuke sat back down and continued his meal, ignoring the scroll, all while a sense of dread slowly started to overcome him. Standing up, Sasuke cleaned up his plates. Moving everything to the sink, he paused when he removed the scroll to prevent it from being washed. With a deep breath, Sasuke opened the scroll, and channeled chakra through it.

Sasuke let out a gasp, as tears rolled down his face. In his hands were two headbands fused together. Both had the Konoha symbol on them, but one had a large slash through it, as though a claw scratched it. Sasuke moved to step away, but felt something on his foot. Looking down he saw a small piece of paper.

Reaching down, he picked up the paper, and closed his eyes.

"No, this can't be real."

Opening his eyes once more, he looked at the report signed by Tsunade and Kakashi. Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke saw that the signatures were not forged.

With a cry, Sasuke gripped his eyes as his head burst into pain. Thrashing around, he knocked the kettle off of the counter and onto the floor shattering it.

Removing his hands from his head, Sasuke looked into his hands and saw blood. He quickly rushed to his bathroom and looked into the mirror to see a pinwheel formation in his eyes, staring right back at him. He fell backwards onto the bathroom floor, tears flowing down his face.

"I don't want this."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading the chapter. Leave a review if you enjoyed it and see you next time.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Well hello and welcome to another chapter. Sorry it took so long, I had a VERY busy past couple of weeks. Now normally I would have been able to release a chapter earlier, but those weeks decided to beat me up for my lunch money at least three times a day. Hopefully it was worth the wait. Also a BIG thing occurred recently, and that was achieving 40 reviews and 104 follows! Sure for some people this is small, but for me, it really means a lot that so many of you like my story. If I could I'd give you all a big hug. Or a handshake if you don't like hugs. Now for some bad news. Finals are coming up, and sadly that means there is a large chance that you may not get another chapter for a while. Hopefully you can understand the plight of this poor college student. I'll try my best to get something done in the next couple of weeks, but no promises. Oh hey almost forgot. Please leave a review and let me know if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes. Thanks and enjoy!

Edit: fixed an inconstancy thanks you to the reader who pointed out that I forget about what I write. E2: I may have dropped the ball. Fortunately I picked up the ball. Everything should be better now. Thanks to Twisted Pxl for the help!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything else I may reference. However, when I travel back in time and put stocks in Walmart and Apple, I'll be able to own everything.

* * *

Jiraiya shifted in his seat in the room's corner as his eyes darted around the small sparsely decorated room, looking for anything that could tell him about the temple he had entered. The room he was sitting in was rectangular. Jiraiya estimated that the room was five meters long and four meters wide. The floor was made of a gray tile, which was covered by a red carpet with a golden trim. In front of Jiraiya was a round willow table which was a meter in diameter. Across the table was an old oak and leather chair next to an in wall fireplace. Above the fireplace was a painting of an elderly woman wearing a small crown. The wall across from the fireplace had a large oak bookshelf covering the entire wall. The bookshelf reached up halfway to the three and half meter tall room and ended in both corners of the room. The bookshelf was sporadically filled, and had no obvious sorting. Directly across from Jiraiya was an open door. In the opposite corner of the room near the bookshelf was a small rack that had books resting on it, waiting to be returned to their proper place.

Jiraiya's fingers tapped on the table in front of him, while he contemplated his next move.

'I want to look at these books, but I can't allow this Hakkai fellow sneak up on me,' Jiraiya thought anxiously, 'If only there were two of me.'

Silence filled the room, shortly followed by a small pop.

Jiraiya motioned for his new Shadow Clone to examine the bookshelf. The clone nodded and complied.

Jiraiya returned his gaze to the door across from him, keeping an eye out for his host.

The clone picked up a green bound book, and looked at its cover. On the front cover of the tome was a golden symbol. The symbol had a small golden circle in the center. A centimeter to the right of the circle was a crescent that covered the front half of the circle. To the right of the crescent was another, larger crescent that covered its smaller counterpart.

Gingerly, the clone opened the book. The first page was covered in strange symbols that the clone could not decipher. The clone started to flip through the book, looking for anything he could understand. With a grunt of disappointment, the clone shut the book. The clone looked back at Jiraiya, who motioned for the book. The clone stepped towards Jiraiya, and placed the book on the table, and returned to the books, picking out a book bound in a simple brown leather.

Jiraiya closed his eyes, and opened the book to a random page. When he opened his eyes, he estimated he opened up to a page three fifths of the way through the book. Jiraiya looked for any symbols resembling any language, common or code, that he knew. A small frown appeared on his face as his search continued, turning the page to continue his search.

Upon turning the page, Jiraiya saw a small black and white picture placed on the top half of the page. Jiraiya moved his hand to get a closer look. The picture was of a bald man in a sumo starting position, facing a much larger creature that seemed to have rocks coming out of its back and head. The creature seemed to have tattoos all over its body, and it was in a starting position as well. Jiraiya turned the page and exhaled harshly through his nose.

'Chapter twelve, huh? At least the numbers are the same.'

Jiraiya's musings were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and a faint rattling.

Looking up, Jiraiya saw Hakkai entering the room carrying a white tea pot, and two white cups.

"Sorry about the wait," Hakkai said apologetically, "but I misplaced the tea and had to go all the way to the storage room to find it."

Hakkai blinked slowly as he saw Jiraiya sitting in the corner, while another Jiraiya was skimming through a book.

"Oh dear, I didn't realize I needed to bring enough for three!" Hakkai said in a panic, "I'll make sure your phantom has plenty to drink as well."

An inquisitive look came upon Hakkai's face.

"Do ghosts drink tea? Bah! We can find out."

The clone put the book back on the bookshelf, and waved at Hakkai.

"There is no need for that, I'm just a clone, not this phantom thing. I'll go ahead and see myself out," The clone quickly mentioned.

With a puff of smoke, the clone dispersed.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow as memories of moving symbols inside the brown book filled his mind. Looking back at Hakkai, Jiraiya saw the old man staring with a blank look at the empty spot.

"Wh-what happened? Where did he go? Is he alright?" Hakkai asked in a flurry.

Jiraiya's eyebrows furrowed.

"He is perfectly fine, just a temporary clone I created. They are basically just an extension of myself that I can create and return at will," Jiraiya explained.

Hakkai let out a sigh of relief.

"That's much better than what I thought it was," Hakkai exclaimed.

"And just what is a phantom, if you wouldn't mind explaining?"

Hakkai shrugged.

"I guess it's only fair. A phantom is a creature made from dark magic. Unlike your clone, the phantom is its own unique being. It has its own life and desires. The creators usually give them some type of purpose, such as to protect the creator, or defend an area. However, there are some records in history of phantoms being made to find their own way of life. Unfortunately, the dark magics used to create them usually had a great cost, in either life or power, and the phantoms tended to be very, very stupid, in order for them to maintain their life."

Jiraiya stared at Hakkai.

'I don't think he is going to stop any time soon.'

"You and Naruto both enjoy spacing out at detailed explanations, don't you?" Hakkai accused.

Jiraiya scratched the back of his head.

"Well to be honest, I explained mine in two sentences, while you went on to explain an entire historical novel."

Hakkai walked to the table and carefully set down the tea, and sat in the open leather chair across from Jiraiya, and slouched down.

"No one respects their elders anymore," Hakkai whined.

With a blank face, Jiraiya stared at the sulking old man.

'This is the guy who can help Naruto control the Kyuubi? I guess I've seen stranger.'

Hakkai looked up, and stared at the green book on the table.

"Oh? Tales of Courage? Quite the choice for you to read. Out of its trilogy, Tales of Wisdom was my favorite, while Tales of Power was my least," Hakkai excitedly exclaimed, "What did you think of it?"

"I'm afraid I was unable to read the book. I can't read this language," Jiraiya explained.

Hakkai stared at Jiraiya, a look confusion on his face. Jiraiya met his gaze in awkward silence.

"Oh that's right," Hakkai suddenly proclaimed, startling Jiraiya. "No one speaks my dead language anymore. I nearly forgot how much has happened."

Hakkai's gaze fell to the floor, as a somber look replaced his usual cheerfulness.

Sensing the change in mood, Jiraiya uncomfortably shifted in his seat.

"Sorry for bringing it up, but what do you mean by that?"

Hakkai looked up at Jiraiya.

"Think you can actually pay attention?"

Jiraiya glared at Hakkai for the jab, and huffed.

"Well played old man."

With a triumphant laugh, Hakkai picked up the tea pot.

"Tea?"

Jiraiya shook his head.

With a slight nod of his head, Hakkai filled the cup closest to him with tea. He then set the pot down, and picked up the cup. He took a small sip, testing the warmth of the drink. Feeling the warm liquid filling his body, Hakkai let out a content sigh.

Jiraiya watched as Hakkai took another drink from his cup.

"Are you sure? This may be a long conversation."

Seeing the logic in Hakkai's statement, Jiraiya stiffly nodded.

Hakkai smiled, and moved to pour a glass for Jiraiya. As the liquid fell from the pot, Hakkai saw a quick movement, as the white cup was replaced with a humble wooden cup.

Chuckling, Hakkai filled the cup, and looked at Jiraiya.

"You're just as paranoid as the other military types."

Jiraiya pulled his cup to his face, giving the liquid a slight sniff.

"I haven't lived as long as I have by being foolish."

With a smile, Hakkai put down the pot.

"No, I guess not."

Jiraiya took a small drink of tea and set his cup on the table.

"Now, if you wouldn't mind explaining the dead language."

"Straight and to the point, aren't you?"

Hakkai picked up his cup, and took a sip with closed eyes.

Jiraiya looked at Hakkai, waiting for an answer.

"A long time ago, before your history was even a thought in the goddesses' minds, there was a powerful kingdom. In this land, they worshipped three goddesses. Each goddess represented a quality; wisdom, power, and courage. The goddesses had a hero, destined to bring peace to the world when great evil sought to destroy it."

Hakkai opened his eyes to the sound of scratching. He smiled as he saw Jiraiya scribble into a notebook, and returned to his story.

"Roughly twenty years prior my birth, the hero had defeated a great source of evil, and returned the land to its rightful order. Fast forward to my birth, and the peace was interrupted with civil unrest. The cause? My birth."

Jiraiya stopped writing. He looked up at Hakkai with a puzzled look on his face.

"Your birth?"

Hakkai nodded.

"Yes, my birth. Unfortunately I am the same race as the man who attempted to take over our world, and even worse, I am a man."

"And how does being a man make it worse?"

Hakkai frowned as he took another drink of his tea.

"In my race, only one man was born every one hundred years, or at least that's what our folk lore tells us. Unfortunately, the only time the people heard of this, was when that man had been evil. They ignored the many born good because of the faults of the cruel."

Hakkai slumped back into his chair slightly.

"Many people wanted me to be put to death on the spot. However, my Queen decided otherwise."

Jiraiya took a closer look at the painting above the fireplace. The woman had a heart shaped face. Her nose thin and small. She had wise blue eyes underneath sharp graying brown eyebrows. Her lips were thin, and showed no emotion. She had long brown and gray hair that flowed over her back. On her head was a golden tiara with a blue gem held on the top of the center of the tiara. Her ears were elongated and adorned with thick small grey hoop earrings.

"Was that her?"

Hakkai smiled.

"Yes that was her. In her wisdom, she decreed that I had a special purpose for being born, and that they would raise me in a way that I would know the love of others, and I would not be shunned. She then went to commune with the goddesses to see if any insight would be given for my purpose. The goddesses proclaimed that I was here to help protect the world from evil."

Hakkai sat up straight, and started to pour himself more tea.

"Now keep in mind that evil was defeated by a hero merely twenty years before, and the people were not wanting to go through that traumatic experience again. My Queen decided that I would be trained to either be the hero, or assist the hero, whichever I needed to do."

A chuckle escaped Hakkai as he remembered his childhood.

"They quickly learned I was not the hero."

Jiraiya looked up from his notebook.

"Really? How so?"

"I was absolutely dreadful at any type of combat, no matter how hard I trained," Hakkai exclaimed with a laugh, "Every test of strength and dexterity they gave me I failed nearly immediately."

Hakkai smiled fondly while he recalled his childhood.

"Fortunately, I was, and still am, very gifted in the arts of the mind, and I picked up the concepts of magic quickly, even though I was limited by my own weakness," Hakkai said with a large smile.

"To say my teachers and my Queen were surprised would be an understatement. They sent me at the tender age of eleven to our knights' academy, where they asked me to teach one of the struggling recruits, who was twice my age, the basic stances and forms of polearms. I found the challenge exhilarating, and it came naturally to me. Within a week, I had taught the man the basic forms, and started with some advanced techniques."

Hakkai pulled himself from his memories and looked at Jiraiya, who had a small scowl appearing on his face.

"I understand you just want to know about the language, but I haven't had good company with a mature person in over sixty years," Hakkai growled at Jiraiya, who had started to fall asleep.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just your stories drag on forever," Jiraiya said matter-of-factly.

'I thought Naruto was exaggerating about those tapestry stories,' Jiraiya thought, 'He's almost as bad as Orochimaru is about his experiments.'

"You can continue, I'm paying attention. I promise."

Hakkai muttered under his breath about the impatient youth before continuing his story.

"After this test, my Queen told me that they would begin the process of my awakening as the Sage of Spirit."

A snap echoed through the room.

"Sage of Spirit?" Jiraiya questioned as he discarded of his now broken pencil and retrieved another from his vest.

Hakkai nodded with a smile.

"Yes, the Sage of Spirit. Without going too far into details, it basically means that I am one of seven sages with the knowledge and power to banish evil and assist the goddesses chosen hero with his destiny."

Jiraiya stared at Hakkai, his mouth slightly open and his eyes slightly dazed.

"I see," Jiraiya said in his stupor, "I assume me being a sage is not a coincidence."

Hakkai chuckled.

"I'll get to that, but for now I will finish my long winded explanation," Hakkai said with humor in his voice, "Now, where was I?"

"Awakening as the Sage of Spirit."

"Ah, yes. For eight years I studied directly under my Queen, learning everything I could about the sages, preparing for myself to be revealed. I questioned why it was taking so long, eager to fulfill my duties as a sage."

Hakkai smiled at the picture of the Queen over the fireplace.

"I do believe I annoyed her very much, constantly asking if I was ready for eight straight years. Every time I asked, she said the same thing. 'You'll know when it is time, and that time will be when I say so.' I nearly gave up hope after my nineteenth birthday, but I decided, why not ask one more time. Imagine my surprise when she told me to pack my things."

Pausing, Hakkai rubbed the back of his neck and smiled.

"Honestly, I thought she had gotten sick of it and was ready to kick me out."

Jiraiya snorted at the peculiar old man.

"She took me out to this forest, how we got out without anyone noticing was beyond me but I had learned to just accept these sorts of things. She brought me to an old ruined building with a winged sword in a pedestal in the middle of it. I asked what we were doing here, and she responded by telling me to be quiet and pay attention."

Hakkai coughed and rubbed his throat before taking a drink of tea.

"To my amazement, a glowing pale gold man was floating before us."

Hakkai paused and reached into his Kimono. Jiraiya tensed as his hand twitched towards his kunai pouch. Hakkai ignored Jiraiya's reaction as he pulled out a small purple velvet bag with gold drawstrings. The bag clinked as Hakkai opened it. Reaching in, Hakkai pulled out a bronze medallion. Hakkai held up the medallion for Jiraiya.

The medallion had a yin yang symbol on it. Both the yin and yang were bronze, but protruded slightly from the medallion.

"The man had this symbol on his robes, and he gave me this medallion. After that he touched me and the next thing I know, I woke up inside this temple."

Jiraiya blinked slowly.

"So you met a glowing guy, he touched you, and then you woke up in a temple."

"Yes, that sounds about right."

"I assume that means you have no idea how you got to this temple."

"At first, no."

"At first?"

"Yes. And if you wouldn't interrupt me, you'd find out."

Jiraiya sheepishly apologized and raised his notebook to slightly block his face.

Hakkai grunted and continued his story.

"Upon awakening, I found a book telling me that I had been placed in this temple to wait for the next hero to assist him in cleansing the evil that would plague the land. My Queen had use the last power given to her by the goddesses to reconstruct this temple and to rejoin me with my ancient self. She wished me the best of luck and warned me not to step outside the temple, as time flew differently in this holy place."

Looking up from his notebook, Jiraiya had a puzzled look upon his face.

"What do you mean time flows differently?"

Hakkai laughed nervously.

"Well the magic cast on this place to construct it slowed it's progression through time by quite a substantial amount, although the magic has weakened greatly from the original creation."

Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"What do you mean time was slowed? What do you mean weakened? How long have I been here?" Jiraiya questioned in a frenzy.

"Time flows slower in this temple, thought that was rather obvious by how I explained it. It has weakened as the flow of time in this temple is slowly reaching the same flow as the outer world. On its conception, an hour in here would be centuries outside. This is also why you can't understand my language, as everyone else who spoke it died many, many years go. And as for how long you've been here, I'd guess it has an hour or so since you've been in here. But by the look of horror on your face I assume you'd like to hear that it's been around a day or two since you've entered."

Jiraya twitched slightly as his mouth slightly hung open.

'I've been gone. For two days?' Jiraiya thought in horror, 'With no explanation where I was going. Tsunade is going to kick my ass.'

"Well it has been great getting to speak with you, a pleasure really," Jiraiya said as he stood up, knocking his chair into the wall close behind himself, "But I really must go, lots of people worrying about where I am and whatnot."

Hakkai watched as Jiraiya shuffled around the table and moved for the door.

"I see where your student gets his goodbyes from."

Jiraiya stopped and turned and faced Hakkai's back. He had completely forgotten why he had come to this place originally.

Jiraiya stepped towards Hakkai, frustration evident on his face.

"We do have a lot in common. But that actually reminds me of why I came here in the first place. Why does Naruto believe that you can help him control the Kyuubi?" Jiraiya questioned with an air of protection.

Hakkai stood up himself, while taking a sip of tea.

"I do not know what this Kyuubi is, but I know this," Hakkai calmly spoke as he turned around and looked Jiraiya in the eye, "I was trained since a very young age to assist the Goddesses' chosen hero to conquer any challenge in his way so he could cleanse evil from this world. All it will take is time and tender care for him to grow into his destiny, is that not what you as a fellow sage believe as well?"

"My belief in Naruto has nothing to do with my status as a sage," Jiraiya snidely remarked.

"Oh? Then where does it come from?" Hakkai questioned.

"It comes from my belief in him as a person and that he will be the hero he was prophesized to be," Jiraiya exclaimed with absolute certainty.

"And where did this prophecy come from?"

"It comes from th-"

Jiraiya paused. He blinked slowly as a dumbfounded look came to his face.

'The Great Toad Sage gave me this prophecy. This sage business can't be a coincidence. Something is going on here.'

Jiraiya mentally groaned at his predicament.

'Why oh why couldn't I have ignored this place? I should be busy working on my next novel.'

"What do you want from me" Jiraiya questioned.

Hakkai chuckled as he reached into his Kimono.

"I want the same thing you want. I want to help Naruto to fulfill his destiny so the world can be saved," Hakkai started to explain.

"Yes, yes, but what does that have to do with me? What does it have to do with your story?" Jiraiya barked, his impatience starting to grow.

Hakkai took a deep breath and looked at the velvet pouch gently resting in his hand. He turned around and looked at Jiraiya. He reached into the pouch, and pulled out a closed fist.

"Catch."

Jiraiya watched a yellow object fly towards him. He dexterously picked the object out of the air, and held it between his forefinger and thumb. He was holding a yellow medallion that had three circles forming a triangle raised into the medallion, with three isosceles triangles pointing inwards in between the spaces of the circles pushed into the medallion.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and looked back at Hakkai.

"What is this for?"

"We both know that something is going to happen, and that it needs to be stopped. What we don't know is how it's going to happen. The best we can do is work together Naruto can fulfill his destiny and become the savior he was meant to be. Whether you want to accept it or not, we are both sages, albeit from completely different times. That medallion is a symbol that we have a divine purpose in saving the world. We may not be the hero ourselves, but we must accept our role."

Jiraiya looked at the medallion once more, a faint sense of familiarity coming to him. He clenched the medallion in his fist, and dropped it in his pocket.

"And what are our roles?"

Hakkai raised his right hand and muttered several words under his breath. Jiraiya tensed and discreetly performed handseals, preparing a substitution jutsu. With a final word, three small balls of multicolored light floated inbetween Hakkai's fingers. Effortlessly, he juggled the light between his fingers.

Sensing Jiraiya's tension, Hakkai closed his fist, and the lights disappeared. Jiraiya let out a small breath.

"You can teach him everything about your time, while I can teach him about my time. I can prepare him to use ancient magics, and teach him how to wield the sword of evil's bane."

"Sword of evil's bane?"

"Yes, you saw it sitting in the middle of the temple, did you not?"

Jiraiya's brow furrowed as he thought of the solid grey blade resting in its pedestal.

'That hunk of junk? It looked incredibly dull and doesn't even have a pommel. It's basically just one bar of metal,' Jiraiya thought skeptically.

Hakkai read Jiraiya's look of confusion and smiled.

"Don't judge it by appearances. When the time comes, the blade will return to its former glory, and will be a powerful tool in defeating whatever horrors come," Hakkai said with utmost confidence.

Jiraiya hummed slightly as he rubbed his right thumb over the fingers of his right hand. He stood silent as he contemplated everything he had heard. With a grunt, he turned around and walked out of the small study room and onto the balcony. He walked straight to the large door, not bothering to look around the temple. As he pulled open the door, he was stopped by Hakkai's voice.

"Well, what are you going to do?"

Jiraiya turned his head and looked at the old man, and looked back outside.

"As much as I would like to help, there is something I need to find out first," Jiraiya said in a flat voice as he took a step outside, "Thanks for the tea, but I really must be going."

Not hearing anything from the old sage, Jiraiya closed the door behind him, and moved his thumb to his mouth. Biting his thumb hard enough to draw blood, Jiraiya formed several handseals and slammed his hand on the ground.

With a poof of smoke, Fukasaku appeared.

"Ah! Jiraiya!" Fukasaku exclaimed excitedly, "We were worried about you. You'd gone missing for a day and a half, and we couldn't even bring you to Mount Myoboku with the reverse summoning technique!"

Jiraiya smiled apologetically at the old toad.

"Sorry Fukasaku-sama, I kind of lost track of time," Jiraiya gently spoke, "Speaking of Mount Myoboku, could you take me there? I need to speak with the Great Toad Sage about something I just learned.

Fukasaku gave Jiraiya an inquisitive look.

"Yes of course boy! There's just one thing, though. Could you explain what happened?"

Jiraiya chuckled dryly.

"I will, but I don't think you're going to quite believe it. But first, let's go to Myoboku so I don't have to explain it twice."

Fukasaku nodded as a cloud of smoke covered them. When the smoke dissipated, where the two had disappeared, leaving no trace behind.

The sound of footsteps on the rough stone echoed through the clearing, as a small child wearing a skull mask touched the ground where the pair had been. The child shook his head and adjusted his hat. He bent down and touched the grass where Jiraiya had been standing, and let out confused grunt. The child moved and knocked on the wooden door. The door slowly opened, revealing a content Hakkai.

"Ah! Skull Kid! What can I help you with?"

Skull Kid looked at the ground as he mumbled out a reply.

"Um, the man I helped bring here, he reminds me of my friends. I wanted to know if, uh, you think he will come again."

Hakkai smiled at the child warmly.

"I believe he will do what is right. Now, would you like to stay? I was just about to make a stew from a new recipe! It supposedly was created by yetis."

Skull Kid nodded his head and stepped into the temple. Hakkai motioned for Skull Kid to follow.

"Now, this soup is supposedly one of the best meals of my time. People from all over Hyrule came once the Hero of Twilight brought back the recipe to a humble little store in town. Hopefully it lives up to the hype."

* * *

A/N2: Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. I'll admit I got a little carried away. I enjoy writing Jiraiya and Hakkai way too much. See you all next time!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Well as per usual, I am completely wrong on my updating schedule. However, I will look at this like it is a good thing. You will never be able to predict when I upload a chapter. Is that a good thing? Probably not. If I know one thing about people, it's that they really love oxygen. Also regularly scheduled programs are nice. Speaking of those, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you'd be so kind to leave a review, I would be very grateful! Please let me know if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes. Now I need to find something else to do while I wait for Star Wars episode 7 to come out. Great.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything else I may reference. This paperclip I have is pretty neat though. I wonder if we could do a trade.

* * *

A white rubber ball plummeted towards Naruto's face, whom watched with complete apathy. As the ball drew ever closer, Naruto deftly picked the ball out of the air.

'Not high enough.'

Naruto stretched himself out on the floor of his living room even more, as he tossed the ball towards the ceiling. The ball hit the ceiling with a resounding smack.

'Little too high.'

Naruto caught the ball as it fell back down to the earth, and he caught it once more. He gently threw the ball up in the air, and smiled to himself as it narrowly avoided touching the ceiling.

'Perfect. Now to do it again.'

A sigh escaped Naruto's mouth as he continued throwing the ball as close to the ceiling as possible.

'Waiting is boring,' Naruto whined in his mind, 'Kakashi-sensei said he'd pick me up for training an hour ago.'

It had been two days since Naruto had returned, and a day after Kakashi had left the hospital. The entire time Naruto had been forbidden from leaving his small apartment unless under supervision from Kakashi, Yamato, or Jiraiya.

With the thought of his teachers, a small frown came to Naruto's face.

'I hope Ero-Sennin is okay, Kakashi-sensei got pretty hurt in there and may have lost his eye because of me.'

Naruto held the ball in both of his hands, squeezing it gently as he glared at the ceiling, tossing the ball into the air once more.

'I shouldn't think like that. Kakash-sensei is fine, and Ero-Sennin is really strong! He'll be perfectly fine.'

Naruto was broken from his musing by the sound of knocking. Naruto turned towards the door, and waited for another knock. A smack echoed through the room as the ball landed on Naruto's cheek.

Naruto stared at his wall, contemplating what had just happened. The knock echoed again, as a smile broke out on Naruto's face.

'Yes! Finally time to train! Took him long enough to get here!' Naruto thought as he kicked himself up off the ground.

Hearing the knocking once more, Naruto glared at the door.

"I heard ya!" Naruto yelled out as he opened the door, "Why don't you be more pacient like you make us Ka-"

Naruto froze as he stared at a woman with red eyes and long flowing black hair whom was wearing a dress that looked like bandages.

With a nervous chuckle, Naruto stepped back into is apartment while scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, Kurenai-Sensei, I uh, thought you were"

"Kakashi?"

"Yeah Kakashi-sensei."

Kurenai sighed, staring at the blonde who was now staring at the ground.

'Why did I agree to do this? I should have told Kakashi to shove it.'

"Come on, Naruto," Kurenai said in an almost annoyed tone as she waved for him to follow, "The ground is interesting but it isn't going to train you nearly as well as I can."

Naruto looked up and watched Kurenai's back as she walked away. He quickly grabbed his sandals and rushed after Kurenai.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything but," Naruto said as he struggled to put on his sandals while walking behind Kurenai, "I thought Kakashi-sensei was supposed to teach me."

Kurenai mentally laughed to herself devilishly.

'Oh this could be fun,' Kurenai cruely thought, 'Anko is going to love this. She may even pay me back for covering her bar tab last week.'

She suddenly stopped, causing Naruto to run into her back.

Naruto stepped back, annoyed at the sudden stop. He started to open his mouth, when Kurenai turned around.

"Oh? Am I not as good as Kakashi?" Kurenai said, her voice sickly sweet.

Naruto's brow furrowed, confused at the sudden change in personality.

"No, no it's not that"

Kurenai put her right hand on her right hip and smirked at Naruto.

"Maybe you were looking forward to some guy time," Kurenai said teasingly, "If what I heard about you in the academy is true, maybe you're chasing after Sasuke has a completely different reason, hmm?"

Naruto blinked twice.

"No, it's just we haven't really interacted before."

Kurenai tilted her head, realizing the truth to his words.

Naruto closed his eyes and stroked his chin.

"Really the only time we've talked was during the chunin exams where you told me to take Hinata's amazing ointment," Naruto said as he opened his eyes, "I'm assuming the only reason you know anything about me from the academy is because Kiba was making fun of me."

Kurenai blankly stared at Naruto, who returned the favor.

'Well he's not wrong. I guess this is rather out of the blue. But I thought he was supposed to be easier to mess with. At least that's what I picked up from Hinata and Kiba.'

Kurenai stood up straight and turned around.

"You're no fun at all."

Naruto watched as Kurenai walked away, utterly confused.

Shaking his head, Naruto ran to catch up to her, and ran into her as she suddenly stopped.

"Gah! Why'd ya' stop?" Naruto questioned in frustration.

Kurenai turned around, a small scroll in her outstretched hand.

"I almost forgot," Kurenai said sheepishly, ushering Naruto to take ths croll.

Naruto took the scroll, and released the contents in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Naruto saw a plane white mask and a grey hooded cloak.

"Huh? What's this for?" Naruto questioned.

"You're supposed to be dead, remember?"

Naruto winced as he took of his orange jacket. He put on the mask and cloak quietly and sealed his jacket into the scroll.

'Right, dead,' Naruto ruefully thought, 'I hope this was worth it.'

With a sharp exhale through his nose, Naruto looked at Kurenai, who motioned to put on a hood. With a grumble, Naruto complied.

"Oh suck it up, you can take it off when we get to training ground 44, now come on, we haven't got all day!" Kurenai yelled as she jumped onto a nearby rooftop.

With a sigh, Naruto followed.

'Well at least it's just for a short time. Training ground 44. Why does that sound familiar?'

* * *

Naruto looked up at the large chain-link fence in front of him. Through the fence was a forest so dense that it appeared as though it were night merely feet away.

'Oh yeah, this place. I hate this place.'

Naruto turned from the fence, and looked at Kurenai, who was speaking to a woman with purple hair. The two turned to look at him at the same time, and looked back at each other. With a sigh, Naruto leaned against the fence.

'I thought she was supposed to be training me, not chatting with the local crazy lady.'

Naruto watched as Kurenai held out her hand, and the purple haired woman dropped something in it. The woman leaned in an appeared to whisper to Kurenai, who's face instantly turned rad. The lady ran off towards the village, as Kurenai walked towards Naruto, rubbing her forehead.

"What was that about, Kurenai-sensei?"

"it was nothing," Kurenai grumbled, "Anko was just being her usual self while pointing us towards our approved gate, now come on."

Kurenai shuffled down the perimeter of the forest, grumbling.

Naruto snorted and followed Kurenai while tugging at his cloak.

"When can I take off this damn thing?" Naruto questioned. He pulled on the cloak once more, slightly fanning himself. He looked to the sky and saw blue, not a cloud in sight.

Not looking back, Kurenai replied.

"In a minute, we just have to get inside."

Naruto groaned.

Time crawled past as Naruto felt the heat of the sun boring down upon him, as though it were trying to eradicate his existence on the world.

'Why did it have to be a gray cloak? Why not a white one? And why does it have to be made of wool' Naruto sorrowfully questioned as looked to the sky.

Naruto felt himself collide with something soft, yet sturdy, and looked back in front of himself to see Kurenai catching herself.

"Watch where you're going brat!" Kurenai yelled out.

Naruto apologized quickly.

Kurenai let out a breath.

'Is this going to become a thing? Please don't let this become a thing,' Kurenai begged to whatever powers were listening.

"Sorry, Kurenai-sensei, but you just randomly stopped after all this time."

"All this time? It's been two minutes," Kurenai stated, "And besides, I thought you'd be happy to know we're here."

Naruto looked to his left and saw small gate, barely large enough for two people to enter side by side. There was a small box with a switch near the gate on both sides of the gate. Wires from the boxes ran to another larger box above the entrance. Out of the larger box was a guiding rail and chains attached to the fence.

Kurenai moved to the box, and put a small key in underneath the box. She then pushed the switch up, causing the gate to rise. She pulled out the key and walked through the open gate, beckoning Naruto in. He complied and stepped in. Kurenai moved to the next box, and put the key in underneath the box, and flipped the switch down. Naruto watched as the gate closed in, locking them both in.

Kurenai took out the key and placed it in her pocket and walked into the forest. Naruto quickly followed. When the two could no longer see the gate, Kurenai stopped.

"Alright, you can take off the cloak and mask,"

Naruto quickly tried to pull of the cloak, having troubles as it stuck to his sweating body. With a triumphant roar, Naruto tossed the cloak up in the air. He caught the cloak as it came back down, and moved his hand to take of the mask. Taking of the mask he looked at the front of the blank mask. Naruto closed his eyes and shook his head at the memories that assaulted him.

"You okay, Naruto?" Kurenai questioned, concern in her voice.

Naruto took out the small scroll from his pocket, and sealed the cloak and mask, while taking out his orange jacket. He peeled off his black shirt from his sweaty body, allowing the slight breeze of the forest to cool him.

"Naruto?"

Naruto looked up and smiled.

"Yeah I'm fine, just was reminded of a bad dream I had."

Kurenai gave Naruto a comforting smile. In their line of duty, nightmares of work were frequent, and many refused to speak with a doctor, fearing they would be left vulnerable.

"Alright, well I guess we can begin your training," Kurenai excitedly said as she started some light stretches.

Naruto simply looked at her.

"Okay, but where is your team? Shouldn't they be here?"

Kurenai paused.

"Well that's part of the reason I'm here teaching you. Shino and Kiba are still in the hospital, while Hinata is under close supervision of her clan's greatest doctors," Kurenai said as she resumed stretching, "Kakashi would have been here, but Tsunade had explicitly told him no strenuous activities, or she would put him back in the hospital for the next month after she heard he was going to train you. Tsunade then asked me to help you, as my team was out of commission."

Naruto growled to himself, feeling a tinge of anger. He quickly shook it away, thinking of how Tsunade needed the best for everyone, not just himself. Naruto took in a deep breath.

'The best for everyone. That's why I'm training to get stronger, right? So I can use my own power and not endanger my friends,' Naruto looked at Kurenai, his eyes filled with energy, 'I'll never rely on the Kyuubi's powers ever again. I'll be strong enough to take out everything all by myself!'

"Well that makes sense. Now, what are we doing!"

Kurenai took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. She then looked around, and saw a large fallen over tree. She walked over to the tree, and sat on it.

"Now we wait."

The energy immediately drained from Naruto's eyes. His head drooped as his mouth slowly opened.

"We wait?"

Kurenai nodded her head.

"Why are we waiting?"

Kurenai crossed her legs and leaned back slightly, holding herself up on the tree with her arms behind her.

"We're waiting for Yamato in case there are any problems. In the meantime, why don't you meditate and reflect on things you need help with."

Naruto nodded and sat on the ground and closed his eyes. His mind was filled with the burning images of his nightmares. With a subtly shake, Naruto cleared his mind and focused on the sounds of the forest.

'It's a good thing Yamato-sensei is coming. I don't want to think about what would happen to me with these stupid memories. Stupid mask.'

* * *

Kurenai let out a delighted sigh as she observed a small black bird hopping on a tree branch. The bird was skillfully weaving twigs into a nice nest for its family.

'This bird has a nice idea, get a nice home for its mate and children, followed by a life of flying wherever it can and getting food and having no worries.'

Kurenai was pulled from her thoughts as a large part of the tree limb leapt up, and swallowed the bird whole. The snake slowly slithered off the branch and across the tree, knocking the nest to the ground. Kurenai stared at the now empty space on the branch.

"That poor bird."

Kurenai jumped at the new voice from behind her. She turned around, hands flying through seals. Upon seeing the face of Yamato, she let out a curse and sat back down with a huff.

"Nice of you to finally show up, we've been here for nearly an hour."

Yamato shrugged as he formed a chair from the tree Kurenai was sitting in.

Kurenai looked at the wood ninja with jealousy.

"Sorry, I was speaking with Kakashi about Naruto's training and some things he would like you to work on, not that he doesn't trust you, it's just Naruto is important to him," Yamato explained. Seeing Kurenai roll her eyes and nod, he continued. "Kakashi wants you to have him discover his natural element, and to teach him how to use shadow clones for training."

With a raised eyebrow, Kurenai looked at Yamato.

"I can understand the elemental training, but he doesn't know how to use his clones for training? With his chakra capacity since he was a genin, he could already be the strongest in the village if he used them to train. Why didn't we tell him about this sooner?" Kurenai questioned incredulously.

Yamato shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. No one ever really thought about it until now. It just never really came up before."

Kurenai stared at Yamato.

"So what are you going to do?"

Yamato lowered himself into the ground, and crossed his legs. He held out his hand towards the meditating Naruto, as two dragons made of wood erupted from the ground.

"This should suffice."

Kurenai eyed the dragons.

"If you say so."

"I do, and you should go wake Naruto up so we can start."

Kurenai looked at the teenage boy and back to Yamato.

"He's been meditating this entire time, not sleeping. I'm actually impressed he can stay still for longer than three minutes."

Yamato's eyes widened.

"Really? This entire time? I could hardly get him to shu-"

Yamato was interrupted by a loud rumbling coming from Naruto, as he fell backwards into the ground, drool falling from his open mouth.

Kurenai and Yamato stared at the blonde. Yamato turned his gaze to Kurenai.

"Meditating, huh?"

Kurenai grumbled and stood up. She walked over to Naruto and growled.

"Wake up!" Kurenai yelled as she kicked the blonde in the side.

With a yelp of pain, Naruto shot up.

"Gah! What was that for?" Naruto sleepily slurred.

Kurenai crossed her arms and glared at Naruto, who rubbed his eyes.

"I told you to meditate, not take a nap!"

Naruto stretched out his arms, as a yawn escaped his mouth. With a sniff, he slowly looked up at Kurenai.

"Sorry, Kurenai-sensei, but I got bored waiting, and the next thing I know you kicked me," Naruto replied.

"Well he's here now, so we're starting. Make a shadow clone," Kurenai ordered.

Naruto stood up and formed a half ram seal with his right hand. There was a small poof of smoke as doppelganger of Naruto appeared beside him.

"Alright, now what?"

"Now tell me what you know about shadow clones."

"Well, they are clones of me and have a portion of chakra I give them. They have my memories and abilities, and can use those to act independently, or as I order them to. They can only take one good hit before they are destroyed, but if they are destroyed, I get their remaining chakra back." Naruto listed sagely.

Kurenai nodded her head.

"Alright, good. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Yeah, they cheat at card games, and if you dispel too many at once you get a killer headache." Naruto responded.

The clone snorted.

"More like you just suck at cards."

"I suck at cards? We're the same person moron!"

"So you just called yourself a moron."

Naruto yelled out in rage as he punched the clone in the face. The clone promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kurenai pinched the bridge of nose and sighed at what she just witnessed.

"Naruto could you make another clone and not destroy it? We're supposed to be training, not creating a drama," Kurenai said in annoyance.

Naruto created another clone while grumbling at the disrespect his creations had.

Seeing the new clone, Kurenai smiled.

"Alright good. Now I'm going to teach one something else you can do with clones, but first I need you to take a deep breath, and empty your mind."

Naruto breathed in and closed his eyes, pushing out all distractions, his clone watching silently.

Kurenai pointed at the clone, and motioned it to follow. The clone nodded and followed Kurenai deeper into the forest. When they could no longer see Naruto, raised her hand, causing the clone to stop. Kurenai turned around looked at the clone, holding her fist out, arm slightly bent. The clone raised its eyebrow, confused.

"If I win, you're paying for my drinks tonight," Kurenai said with her fist still outstretched.

"And what do I get?" the clone asked, as it matched Kurenai's position.

"Well what do you want?" Kurenai asked.

"I can think of a couple things," The clone said as his face turned red and scratched its cheek.

Kurenai's eyebrow twitched as she lashed out, and punched the clone, causing it to explode. She stared at the empty space.

'God dammit, I just messed it up,' Kurenai thought angrily as she turned to return to Naruto.

She took a step forward, and felt herself start to trip. Steadying herself, she saw Naruto with his head to the ground in a bow.

"I'm so sorry, they can't help it, they know their actions have no consequences, please forgive me, oh god, I'm so sorry!" Naruto spat out in half a second.

Kurenai slowly blinked at the boy who appeared to be begging for his life.

'Well I guess this will work, although it's far from ideal.'

"Naruto, how why are you apologizing?"

Naruto looked up from his position.

"Well my clone, uh, suggested something," Naruto said as his face turned bright red.

"And how do you know this?" Kurenai asked.

"Obviously I retained my clones' memories, but I never knew they could do that," Naruto replied.

Kurenai stared at Naruto, stupefied.

'He, he figured it out already?' Kurenai though in disbelief, 'I thought that Kakashi said he wasn't very smart.'

"Y-yeah, that's right. Now what can this ability be used for?" Kurenai questioned.

Naruto closed his eyes as he thought through the possibilities.

"Well, it could be very useful for spying, seeing as my clones could disperse after finding whatever they were looking for. I guess they could also assist any research I needed done."

Nartuo paused, and summoned two clones, which both ran towards the gate of the forest.

Kurenai watched the two clones run past, confused.

"Why did you do that?"

"I have some things I've been working that Ero-sennin left on my desk."

'Jiraiya left him work that he needs to research for?'

"Alright I guess th-"

Kurenai froze, realizing what she had just thought.

"What kind of research is he having you do?" Kurenai asked as her hands started to twitch.

Oblivious to the change in her mood, Naruto responded.

"Nothing much, just some information about forests and some old children's tales. It's rather boring if you ask me," Naruto replied nonchalant.

Kurenai let loose a breath.

"Alright, now, as you now know clones can be used for retaining information, how might you use it in a training sense?"

"That's easy," Naruto started with a large grin, "If a clone can return all of the information to me, I can then use a single clone to double what I'm able to learn."

With a smile, Kurenai nodded in affirmation.

"Good, now we're going to use your newfound ability to teach you about your elemental nature," Kurenai said as she reached into her pouch. She shuffled around her pouch, and pulled her hand out, empty.

"Yamato!" yelled Kurenai as she turned around, "Do you have any chakra paper?"

Keeping his right hand outstretched, Yamato removed his pouch with his left, and threw it to Kurenai, who deftly caught it.

Kurenai waved at Yamato, and opened the pouch. Looking in, she saw a single small square of white paper among various tools. She took out the paper, and gave it to Naruto.

Naruto looked at Kurenai, puzzled.

"What is this for, Kurenai-Sensei?"

"This is a special type of paper that we use to discover what one's natural element is. When you channel chakra into it, the pa-"

Kurenai was cut off by the sound of tearing. Looking down at Naruto's hands, she saw the piece of paper had split in two.

Naruto dropped the pieces of paper, and held his hands up in front of him.

"I didn't rip it, I just channeled chakra into it like you said!"

Kurenai looked at the two pieces of paper floating away in the wind.

'Wind nature? How convenient.'

Turning back her attention on Naruto, she smiled.

"It's fine," Kurenai calmly replied, "That was supposed to happen."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, then what does it mean?"

"It means you have a wind nature."

Naruto frowned.

'Wind? Why wind? Why couldn't it be something cool, like lightning, or fire?'

Kurenai snickered as she watched Naruto's face fall.

"To go along with your nature, I guess I should probably let you know that I can't help you train it."

Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth opened up.

Kurenai smiled inwardly.

"Fortunately, I do know someone who can help, so we will call it here for today's training, and we will continue tomorrow. Have a good rest of your day!"

Naruto watched as Kurenai ran off.

"What."

* * *

The room was dimly lit, as a man ran his right hand through his black hair. With a sigh of frustration, he flipped the page he was reading. This was the third time the man had gone through this report.

A knock echoed through the room.

"The door is open, come in," the man said not looking away from the report. He heard the door open and the sounds of someone shuffling in. Looking up, he saw a woman with curly black hair that flowed down to her neck.

"Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke-sama has refused to leave the training room, and has not eaten or slept in two days."

Orochimaru quietly thanked the heavens for the distraction from the paperwork, and left his office. He easily navigated the twisting maze of his base, and found himself at a set of dimly lit stairs headed downward. He went down the stairs and saw his right hand man, Kabuto.

Kabuto was looking through a window into a large room. Inside the room was Sasuke, who was destroying the training grounds, and anything that happened to be in it.

Orochimaru stood next to his second in command, and frowned.

"Kabuto, I expected some type of anger from him, but to have a rage last for two days? What is going on, and why has no one tried to stop it?"

Kabuto adjusted his glasses as he watched Sasuke obliterate a training dummy with a torrent of flame.

"Well, Orochimaru-sama, from what I've overheard, he is blaming himself for the 'death' of Naruto," Kabuto analyzed, "His anger is mostly aimed towards himself, and he seems to be punishing himself by training. As for why no one has attempted to stop him, the last person who went in there ended up being consumed by a black fire. Fortunately, he seems to be running low on energy, and should pass out at any second."

Orochimaru frowned as Sasuke let out a loud roar, followed by the teen falling face first into the ground.

With a smirk, Orochimaru looked at Kabuto.

"My, my, that was quite the prediction," Orochimaru said with a chuckle. His mood suddenly darkened. "Have that fool taken to the clinic. When he wakes up, I want him monitored until further notice. It's not good practice to have your weapon kill your servants."

Kabuto bowed and entered the training room.

Orochimaru laughed to himself.

'Everything is going according to plan, and dearest Sasuke-kun has become more powerful than I could have imagined.'

Orochimaru ascended the stairs, only his chilling laughter could be heard echoing throughout the base.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Well hello everyone! I have returned from the winter break and the beginning of a new year! With the new year comes new opportunities, such as waiting over a month to release another chapter for a story. Sorry bout that. As usual, no promises for next time, as I'm always wrong! I will say, however, that I have a bit more free time than usual. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it was rather fun to write. Please let me know if you see any spelling or grammar errors.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Legend of Zelda series, or anything else I may reference. I do own a nice watch. It tells time!

* * *

The smell of cigarette smoke filled the air as a man leaned in towards a mirror. He exhaled a cloud of smoke to the side, as he turned his face to the left, bringing a straight razor towards his facial hair which framed his face. He skillfully shaved off a few wily hair, and leaned back to make sure his beard was even. With a smile, he wiped off his razor and breathed out another puff of smoke. He reached up, took the butt of his cigarette out of his mouth, and placed it in an ashtray on the sink below the mirror.

Leaning back from the sink, the man checked himself in the mirror one more time. He reached for a black shirt on the small shelf next to the sink, and put it on. As he pulled his head through, he heard a faint knock echo throughout the small bathroom. He opened the door, and looked down the hallway of his apartment as the knocking once more filled his home. He started to walk towards his front door, while finishing putting his shirt on. He arrived at his front door, and opened it to be met with a pair of crimson eyes.

A wiry smile grew on the man's face as he stared into the luscious crimson pools.

"Well hello Kurenai, what brings you here?" The man asked with a chipper voice.

Kurenai grew a large warm smile, as she stared back into the man's brown eyes.

"I was just in the neighborhood Asuma, and I thought you may want some company," Kurenai responded happily.

Asuma stepped back into his home, and Kurenai stepped in. Asuma closed the door and turned towards Kurenai. Stepping up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her head.

A puzzled look appeared on his face as he felt a slight wetness on Kurenai's clothes and hair. He took a sniff, as the smell of sweat and grass filled his nostrils. His eyes darted to the left at a clock on his kitchen wall that read four sixteen in the evening.

'Strange, she is nearly two hours early for our date.'

"Kurenai?"

"Hmm?"

"Not that I'm not glad you're here, but aren't you a little early?"

Kurenai stepped out of Asuma's embrace and turned towards him.

"Well, yes, but I needed to ask you something."

Asuma raised an eyebrow at the woman he loved.

"And what is that?"

Kurenai held her hands in front of her.

"Well, as you know, my team is all really hurt and Tsunade-sama has put them on medical leave," Kurenai started as Asuma nodded. "Along with them, Kakashi also was injured and is still confined to his home. Tsunade-sama thought it would be a good idea for me to teach Naruto while Kakashi recovers, since I don't have anyone to train."

Asuma smirked at Kurenai.

"Yes, I remember all of that. You told me about it last night."

Kurenai nodded her head.

"Kakashi sent Yamato to watch over us as well as a lesson plan on what he wants Naruto to learn, mainly nature chakra manipulation."

Asuma's eyebrow raised as he quickly deduced why Kurenai had come so early.

Kurenai looked down at the ground in front of Asuma.

"However, Naruto has a wind nature, and I'm not sure how to help him."

Kurenai looked up with large puppy dog eyes.

"I was hoping that you would be able to teach him about wind manipulation, seeing as you're a master at it."

A laugh escaped Asuma as he looked Kurenai in the eyes.

"Oh? And why should I?"

Kurenai slumped at Asuma's response.

'And I planned this routine all way from the forest,' Kurenai mentally whined, 'I guess I could go with plan Anko.'

Kurenai stepped forward and placed her hands on Asuma's chest, and leaned in towards his ear.

"There may be a reward for you if you do," Kurenai whispered into his ear.

Asuma leaned back and looked at Kurenai once more.

"That would have worked better if you didn't smell like you had just finished your morning run," Asuma said with a chuckle.

Kurenai cursed the Konoha weather for ruining her plans.

"Why don't you just ask me normally?" Asuma suggested.

An indiscernible mumble came from Kurenai.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," Asuma said.

Kurenai sighed.

"I'd like you to teach Naruto wind manipulation because you're the best person in the village to do it," Kurenai flatly stated.

Asuma smiled and nodded.

"I'll do it on one condition."

"And what is that?"

"I would like you to work with my team while I take over Kakashi's responsibility."

'Well that's not bad at all,' Kurenai thought, 'and I haven't seen them in a while.'

Kurenai smiled brightly at Asuma.

"Can do, you're the best." Kurenai said as she leaned in and kissed Asuma.

The two pulled apart as Asuma smiled at Kurenai, before leaning in once more. Their lips entwined, as Kurenai took Asuma's hands in her own. They pulled away once more, as Asuma brought up Kurenai's hands to his face. He looked at Kurenai's hands, studying them, and kissed the back of her hands.

"Y'know, I gave you that ring so you'd wear it every now and then," Asuma said as he kissed her left hand.

"Sorry, and I forgot to grab anything from my apartment."

Asuma laughed as he embraced his love.

"Well when we finish your move over, we won't have to worry about that, huh?"

Kurenai smiled as she dug her head into Asuma's chest.

"Until then, we can just get on with our usual plans," Kurenai said with closed eyes.

A feeling of peace came over her as she felt Asuma's chest vibrate with laughter.

"That sounds perfect, but you should probably take a shower before we go anywhere. You smell like you've been out in the heat since dawn."

Kurenai pushed Asuma away and stuck her tounge out him.

"Fine, I'll go shower. Are my things still in the box in the closet?"

Asuma nodded in affirmation.

Kurenai turned away and headed down the nearby hallway.

A gentle smile rose on Asuma's face as he watched Kurenai gracefully walk down the hallway.

"I love you!" Asuma shouted out. His smile widened when Kurenai turned around and blew him a kiss.

"I love you too."

* * *

Asuma's eyes slowly flickered to life and the world around him slowly came into focus. He stared at the black hair in front of him, and smiled. Gingerly, he removed his hand from underneath the beautiful woman lying next to him, and turned to his alarm clock on his night stand, which read eleven in the morning. With a yawn, he lazily closed his eyes and snuggled into his pillow.

'Ah this is the life. Good thing we don't have anything planned this morning.'

Asuma slowly sunk into the queen sized bed, when suddenly, he rolled off the side, and dashed to the closet. With a barrage of quiet curses, he grabbed some clothes haphazardly, and left his bedroom while attempting to change into his training gear.

* * *

'Please let this be the right door,' Asuma thought as he raised his clenched fist, prepared to knock on the door in front of him, 'I don't need another angry neighbor. I should have asked Kurenai where he lived.'

Asuma took in a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

Twenty seconds passed with no answer. Asuma knocked on the door once more. A minute passed, and Asuma sighed to himself.

'This should have been the one, at least that's what the last person said,' Asuma thought as he pulled a cigarette from the front pocket on his vest, 'Then again, the person before that was wrong as well.'

With a practiced flick of the wrist, a lighter seemed to materialize from nothing into Asuma's right hand. He put the cigarette into his mouth, and lit it while turning from the door. He took a long drag on the cigarette, and stepped away from the door. There was a small clicking noise which caused Asuma to turn back to the door. The door slowly opened, revealing Naruto's head leaning out of the door.

Naruto stared at Asuma for a second, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

A loud shout from inside the small apartment echoed through the hall.

"Come on in Asuma-sensei!"

Grumbling, Asuma took his freshly lit cigarette and sealed it inside a small seal on the inside of his shirt sleeve. Apprehensively, Asuma stepped in to the apartment. His eyes widened at the sight before him.

Everywhere he looked, there were clones. He looked inside the living room and saw four clones, all reading different books. One of the clones dispersed, as a look of realization instantly came upon the remaining three. To his left, Asuma heard several clones gasp.

Turning his head, he saw five clones moving around the kitchen, with a large black pot on the stove. A strange green mist was coming out of the pot. The clones started to throw in ingredients into the pot rapidly.

"Asuma-sensei? Are you okay?"

Asuma turned to the voice, to see another Naruto in front of him.

"Everything's fine, Naruto. I was just surprised to see so many clones."

Naruto smiled at Asuma.

"Bah, this is nothing!" Naruto exclaimed, "Wait till you see me when we start training! That is why you're here, right?"

Asuma nodded before answering.

"That's right. Kurenai asked me to teach you wind manipulation."

A smirk appeared on Asuma's face at Naruto's downtrodden look at the mention of his element.

"Oh don't be like that, wind is a great element to have!" Asuma said with a laugh, "Now, I'm sorry I'm late, but we should get started as soon as possible to make up for lost time."

Naruto stared blankly at Asuma, whose laughter turned to a nervous chuckle. A loud pop penetrated the air, causing Asuma to look at the noise. The green mist from the pot slowly started to resemble a skull. His laughter ended and he looked back at Naruto, whose expression hadn't changed.

"Look, Naruto. I'm sorry I forgot, I really am, can you forgive me?"

"Kurenai-sensei never told me when we were training today, or if we even were going to be able to train today."

Asuma's eyebrows furrowed.

'He's right. Kurenai never did tell me what time we were supposed to start.'

Awkward silence filled the small apartment, with only the sounds of something scraping a pot occasionally breaking the silence.

Asuma coughed.

"Well, if now isn't a good time, I, uh, can come back later," Asuma said.

Naruto shook his head as he responded.

"No now is fine, we're almost finished with our experiment anyways."

"Experiment?"

Naruto nodded and pointed at the clones hovering over the pot, and then to the clones who were nose deep in books.

"We found something in one of our books for Ero-sennin's research, and we decided to take a break from learning about the twenty seven different types of trees that may kill you in a forest if it gets inhabited by evil spirits."

A loud pop filled the room, and Naruto winced. Naruto and Asuma looked towards the pot, to see only four clones remaining.

"Why did you destroy him you idiots!"

"He had it coming!"

"Yeah boss, he was trying to get first servings, which we wanted to keep for you."

"Wait, why are you brown nosing boss? We're him you dumb ass!"

Three of the four clones started to fight, while the fourth slowly inched away from the brawl.

Naruto ground his teeth at his dopplegangers. With a frown, he dismissed all of his clones. Slightly woozy from the onslaught of memories, he took a step forward to regain his balance.

Asuma moved to assist him, but Naruto held up his hand.

"I'm fine, but better news, it's ready!" Naruto excitedly explained as he adjusted to his clones' memories.

Naruto happily walked to his small kitchen, Asuma closely behind.

The odor of the concoction assaulted Asuma's nose, causing him to gag, while Naruto simply waded through the smell.

'What in the world did he make?'

Naruto hummed happily as he grabbed a ladle, which had half the handle broken off, and dipped it into the black pot. Asuma gagged once more as the ladle filled with green liquid left the pot. Naruto deftly grabbed a bowl sitting on the counter near the stove. Asuma looked away as Naruto's creation sloshed into the bowl. Naruto grabbed a pair of chopsticks, as he took the full bowl to a small dining table.

"Naruto, what exactly did you make?"

Looking into the bowl, Naruto put his chopsticks into the green liquid. Asuma watched as Naruto seemed to grab something, and lifted upwards. A chunk of green started to emerge from the liquid, causing Asuma to look away and dry heave. He looked back after calming himself, and saw Naruto holding up a noodle from the bowl.

"We found a really old ramen recipe in the book, and decided to cook it for lunch!" Naruto shouted, his voice filled with vigor.

Asuma winced as Naruto put the single strand of noodles in his mouth.

* * *

Asuma stretched his arms above his head as he looked at the unmoving cloaked and masked form of Naruto sitting in the middle of the clearing. Looking to his left, he saw Yamato with a puzzled look on his face. Asuma exhaled a cloud of smoke through his nostrils.

"Alright, Naruto!" Asuma yelled, "Enough moping about your failed lunch, it's time to get you started on your elemental training."

Naruto slowly nodded his head, and moved closer to Asuma.

'Why did I trust an old recipe? It tasted like dirt got together with tree bark and went to party with their friend vomit.'

Naruto slumped over with a whimper as he was haunted at the betrayal of his most sacred food. Asuma rubbed his temples in annoyance as he took another drag on his cigarette.

"Naruto!"

Naruto coughed as the cloud of smoke enveloped him from Asuma's sudden speaking. He looked up and glared at Asuma.

Asuma's eyes widened as he dropped his cigarette on the ground and stomped it out.

"Now that I have your full attention, you can go ahead and take off that disguise."

Naruto quickly complied as he peeled the cloak from his body. He closed his eyes as he removed the mask, and opened them upon covering the mask with the cloak. He then threw the bundle towards Yamato, who sat cross-legged, waiting for the training to begin.

"Naruto, I want you to tell me what you know about the wind element."

"It's strong against lightning, and weak against fire, while doing okay against water and earth," a bored Naruto droned.

Asuma nodded his head with a smile.

"Correct. Now, what are some things that the wind element, and wind techniques do?"

"Uh, cool someone down on a hot day?" replied Naruto unenthusiastically.

"Hmm. I guess that could work," Asuma said as he rubbed his chin, "But the main use for wind techniques is actually for an all-out offense."

Naruto perked up immediately after Asuma finished talking.

Asuma reached into his side pouch, and pulled out a trench knife. He held up the knife, letting Naruto get a good look. Asuma started to channel wind chakra into the blade, and slowly lowered it to the ground. As the trench knife neared the ground, large cuts split the earth. Asuma lazily dragged the knife along the ground, causing a deep cut to mar the once well maintained training ground. With a well-practiced motion, Asuma returned the knife to his pouch. Naruto walked over to the cut, and slowly lowered his fingers into the earth. He kept putting his hand in, until the earth came halfway up his forearm. He looked up at Asuma, awestruck.

"Now imagine if I had been using any force."

An amazed smile quickly covered Naruto's face.

"How'd ya do that!?" Naruto blurted out.

"It's a realitively simple, yet effective trick," Asuma said scholarly, "All you do is merely channel wind chakra throughout the weapon, and it makes it incredibly sharp and able to cut through nearly anything. Now imagine what an actual jutsu or specialized technique could do."

Naruto's smile widened even more.

'Oh man, I can't believe my luck! This wind technique looks like it could easily be stronger than anything Sasuke could ever learn!'

"Alright!" Naruto shouted as he pulled a kunai from the pouch on his leg, "Let's do this!"

Asuma grabbed Naruto's hand. Naruto looked up at Asuma, puzzled. Asuma let go of Naruto's arm.

"Not so fast kid, you don't even know how to use your wind chakra yet."

Naruto put his finger through the ring on the kunai, and spun it around.

"Bah, it can't be that hard. It's just putting chakra through something! I've done it all the time!"

"And how many of those times did your weapon of choice cut through everything in its path as easily as I just cut through the ground?"

Naruto opened his mouth, and promptly shut it once more.

"Alright, I get it. What do I need to do?"

With a smirk, Asuma stood up straight and looked around the clearing. He spotted a single oak tree thirty meters away standing tall on the otherwise flat training ground.

"First, go bring me a single leaf from that tree over there."

Naruto nodded and dashed to the tree. Seconds later, he returned with the leaf in hand. Asuma held out his open palm. Naruto dropped the leaf into his hand. As the leaf fell, a gust of wind caught the leaf, blowing it away. Naruto watched the leaf float away in the wind.

"Heh, sorry bo-"

"Go get another, and just give it to me."

Naruto quickly ran to the tree to grab another leaf. He quickly came back, the leaf tightly held in his hand. He placed the leaf into Asuma's palm, and stepped back.

Asuma studied the leaf laying in his palm.

"The first thing you will do, is hold the leaf between your hands, like this."

Asuma covered the leaf with his other hand flat open, as though he was praying.

"Next, you need to channel your chakra between your palms into the leaf. While you are doing this, you need to focus your chakra as small and sharp as possible."

Asuma's palms glowed briefly. He then opened his palms to reveal the leaf cut verticaly in half.

"If you did it correctly, you should have cut through the leaf."

"Hold between palms, sharp chakra, cut leaf. Alright I'll go get a le-"

"Clones."

"Eh? What about them?"

"How many can you make?"

Naruto crossed his arms and stared at the ground with a contemplative look.

"I don't know," Naruto said as he looked up, "A lot?"

"Okay then, go to the tree and make 'a lot' of clones and have each of them grab a leaf."

Naruto formed a ram sign. With a smirk, a large cloud of smoke filled the clearing. The smoke slowly cleared, revealing hundreds of clones occupying the area. Asuma's jaw dropped.

'There has to be at least a thousand clones! This kid has more chakra than anyone or anything I've ever seen!'

The clones swarmed the tree, picking every leaf off in seconds. Every clone immediately attempted to cut the leaf with their chakra the second they got their leaf.

'Well Kakashi, looks like you got yourself one hell of a ninja. Guess I should thank Kurenai for letting me see this myself. Doubt I'd believe anyone who claimed to see this.'

"Asuma-sensei!"

Asuma turned to see a slightly winded Naruto next to him.

"What should I do now that my clones are training?"

Asuma smiled at the orange clad teen.

"Seeing as your clones can't help with your actual body, we'll start your physical training. We'll start by sparing. Now!" Asuma said as he threw a sucker punch at Naruto, who barely dodged the attack.

* * *

A tiny black bird hopped along a small brown branch. With each hop, the branch slightly wiggled. The bird moved itself to the middle of the branch, and stopped hopping, resting itself after a long day of flying. Suddenly, there was a loud grunt. The bird, startled at the noise, started take flight. A stream of smoke rushed passed the bird, who flew straight through it and into the sky. The branch bounced up and down rhythmically, as a creaking sound came from the wood.

'Too many things point to this being a good decision, and too many point to this being a terrible mistake,' thought Jiraiya as he bounced his pipe in his mouth, 'But what did the Great Toad Sage mean about no toad would know about this time? Obviously something out there knows, but it seems as though he has something agai-'

Jiraiya took the pipe from his mouth and rubbed his forehead with his free hand.

'Why do the toads dislike frogs so much? I'll never understand their petty squabbles.'

"Jiraiya? Are you okay? What did the Great Toad Sage say?"

Jiraiya looked at the source of the voice and saw a worried Shima.

"I'm fine, Shima-sama, just not sure what I should do. The Great Toad Sage said that he knows nothing about these other sages, but he suggested that he knew that something out there does have this knowledge. But the way he said it, with such unusual and uncharacteristic distaste, leads me to believe it has something to do with frogs."

Shima let out a sigh and sat down in front of Jiraiya.

"Well maybe I can help. I may not be as wise as Gamamaru-sama, but maybe I can give you a unique view."

Jiraiya smiled at the small toad warmly.

"Thank you Shima-sama. My first problem is whether or not I should believe the man from the temple about this whole sage business. While his claim of being a sage is somewhat easy to believe, the idea of him knowing everything about Naruto being the child of prophecy worries me. It both validates his claims, and makes him a large target."

Jiraiya looked at Shima for comments.

"Well Jiraiya, from what you've said before your meeting with Gamamaru-sama, you said this sage fellow appeared very kind and not pressuring you into anything. It could be a trick, yes, but you said he felt incredibly genuine, as well as fairly weak. If it turns out this man is truly weak, and means harm to the child, you could easily save him."

Jiraiya placed his pipe back in his mouth, and inhaled. He breathed out a stream of smoke upwards into the air.

"But what if he was lying and was able to greatly hide his true strength, and how would we be able to tell if Naruto was in peril?"

"Well that is a risk, but what if he is right? What if there is something that none of us know of that is coming. Gamamaru-sama himself said that no toad would know of the danger, so how could we prepare him? If this man can prepare Naruto to stop this evil, is it not worth the small risk? Every moment he can prepare could be the difference between success and failure! If you feel uneasy about it, we would easily be able to sneak one of our toads in with him to alert us if things were going wrong, and could bring him back if anything were to happen to him."

Jiraiya closed his eyes and contemplated his choices.

"I think you are right, Shima-sama, but I would still like to know more. Would the frogs really know more about this issue?"

Shima frowned and looked around the small grove. Seeing no other toads, she began to speak.

"They would. The frogs, while quite stupid, have been around for a very, very long time, even longer than Gamamaru-sama has existed. They were among the first of creatures that learned the human tongue, and were even said to form choirs at the lead of ancient humans."

"How would I communicate with the frogs?"

"You wouldn't."

Jiraiya head shook in confusion.

"Then who would?"

"Either myself or my dear husband would. We could easily sneak in and ask some questions. I can see you're wondering why we would sneak in, but that is because the frogs are very untrusting of anyone who is not a frog. However, they are not smart enough to tell the difference between some of us smaller toads from themselves. They've even been known to confuse humans wearing frog masks for frogs as well!"

Shima laughed to herself for several seconds before calming down.

"If you decide to take Naruto to this sage fellow, we'll do our best to make sure you know everything about this time before the toads."

"But if they can be confused by masks, why can't I just go myself?"

"Do you know how to get to their home without getting lost?"

Jiraiya sighed at the old toad.

"Fine, you've made your point. I'll go ahead and tell Naruto to go, but I will go with him. I have some questions I need to ask Hakkai."

Shima nodded and stood up.

"Well I'm glad you finally made a decision. I am going to get started on dinner, do you have any requests?"

Jiraiya smiled brightly at the old toad.

"No thank you, go ahead and make whatever you want, but I may not make it in time. There are still some things I need to do today."

Shima nodded and walked out of the grove.

Jiraiya watched Shima leave. As soon as she was out of sight, Jiraiya reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out the yellow medallion. He felt a strange wave of comfort come over him as the sun glinted off of it. He put the medallion back in his pocket, and stood up. With a huff, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving only a small swirl of leaves behind.

* * *

A/N2: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review, it really motivates me to keep going.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Well hello hello. I have returned once more to give you the this grand chapter... No that's too cocky. This chapter is the bee's knees! That's just plain bad. Look. I wrote this. Enjoy it. Review it. Love it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Legend of Zelda, or anything else I may reference. I do, however, own a cardboard box that I plan to live in. It's like a recyclable mansion!

* * *

Naruto leaned to his right as a gloved fist nearly collided with his face. He used his right leg to roundhouse kick his combatant in the side. Naruto quickly stomped down his right leg when he felt the collision. He looked into the shocked green eyes of his opponent. He reared back his head, and slammed his forehead into his opponents, as pink filled his peripheral vision. The two stumbled backwards.

"Gah! Why did you do that you idiot!" Sakura yelled as she rubbed her forehead.

Naruto smirked as he readjusted the metal plate on his headband, unaffected from the collision.

"Why not?"

Sakura's nostrils flared as she raised her fist. She brought her fist down, punching the ground. The ground splintered as a large crack appeared under Naruto.

Naruto jumped out of the way and pulled three shuriken from his leg pouch. On his descent, Naruto threw the shuriken at Sakura. Sakura leapt out of the shurikens' path and quickly grabbed a kunai from her own pouch. Naruto started to throw a barrage of shuriken at Sakura, who did her best to dodge and deflect all of the metal stars.

Once more, Naruto reached into his pouch for a handful of shuriken. A slight frown came to his face as he withdrew his last shuriken. Naruto threw the shuriken as hard as he could at his pink haired teammate. Sakura simply leaned her head, letting the shuriken fly past her.

The shuriken cut through the air as gravity slowly took effect, causing the shuriken to land in the ground in front of a silver haired man who was sitting with legs crossed.

Kakashi leaned forward to pick up the shuriken, but was pulled back by a strong arm. Kakashi sighed and folded his arms.

"It's my eye that's injured, not anything else Tsunade-sama," Kakashi pouted.

"And as your doctor, I believe you should shut the hell up and not do anything before I strap you to a hospital bed," Tsunade retorted in a sickly sweet voice, "Now just be happy that I am allowing you to oversee Naruto's training whilst Asuma is on a mission and Kurenai is sick."

Kakashi slumped slightly and sighed. He watched as his two students sparred, smiling slightly to himself at their improvements. Looking past the duo, he marveled at the thousands of clones working as a sense of pride washed over him. He turned his gaze from the mass of orange to Yamato, who was sitting three meters to his left.

Yamato was sitting in a circle of nine wooden pillars shaped like dragons. Each pillar had a flame resting atop their heads. He held his right arm out with his palm showing, ready to command the pillars to stop Naruto should any problems arise.

"Hey, Yamato! Your arms getting tired yet?" Kakashi yelled in jest.

Yamato shot Kakashi a dirty look as he started massaging his right arm with his left. He had been sitting in this position with his arm raised for over an hour. Finishing the short massage, he curled his left hand into a fist, and pointed at Kakashi, and slowly started raise his middle finger. Suddenly, a burst of red malevolent chakra flooded the training ground. Yamato's head snapped towards the source, as he commanded the nine wooden dragons to apprehend the culprit.

The dragons hastily surrounded a clone that was covered in a red chakra shell. Immediately, the dragons charged the clone, repressing the foul chakra and destroying the clone with nine simultaneous bites.

Kakashi looked at Sakura and Naruto, who had both froze in the middle of the field. Naruto's head was hanging, and his fists were clenched at his sides, his arms shaking. Kakashi watched as Naruto turned and started walking towards him.

Silence filled the clearing, only the sound of grass being crumpled with each of Naruto's steps. Naruto stopped in front of Kakashi and Tsunade, his body visibly shaking.

"I'm done," Naruto hissed as his fists clenched even harder, his knuckles turning white.

Kakashi turned to his right, and looked at Tsunade behind him, the two sharing a concerned and confused look. Kakashi turned back to Naruto.

"Naruto, we were prepared for this to happen, we are here so that you can learn to be strong enough to make sure you never need it to happen again," Kakashi calmly explained.

Naruto closed his eyes and ground his teeth. He opened his eyes and looked Kakashi in the eye.

"I don't have the power to resist him," Naruto responded as he folded his arms, "This was just training and it was just trying to prove a point, he can take me whenever he wants."

"But, Naruto that's why we're helping you," Tsunade said with a small smile, "It will take some time, but you will be able to stop the Kyuubi from ever hurting you again."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head.

"You have no idea what it is like," Naruto flatly stated, "All it took was one small slip, just a sliver of anger, and I lost." Naruto huffed as a frown marred his face. "My clone was angry and frustrated that we couldn't cut that stupid leaf, and boom, the Kyuubi took control. He's bragging about his power, and trying to make me lose faith. Even now, I can feel it taunting me."

"I'm assuming that there is a reason that it hasn't taken control of you yet, correct?" Kakashi asked.

Brows furrowed in concentration, Naruto thought about the beast's actions. Why hadn't it taken control yet? He had gotten angry several times in the past week during training. But why didn't the beast just finish it?

Naruto sharply inhaled through his nose as visions of fire flickered through his mind and plagued his thoughts.

"I think it's because he is waiting for me to be so broken, that I would just give myself to him," Naruto mused as he rubbed his neck and chin, "If I were him, I'd wait for something unexpected to happen that would push me out of my senses, and then make my move."

Tsunade let out a small laugh, causing Naruto to look at her confused.

"It looks like that perverted idiot finally taught you how to think instead of just punching through your problems!" Tsunade said through a smile.

Naruto glared Tsunade, who was unfazed.

"I've always been able to think, Baa-chan!" Naruto yelled out.

Tsunade's face darkened as she glared intensely at Naruto, who cheekily smiled in return.

"Well it was fun, but I'm gonna go now," Naruto said, "Using that stupid furball's chakra really tires me out! It's even worse when he forces me to use it."

"That's fine, I'll just adjust our schedule slightly so you get back on track," Kakashi said as he tried to stand up, only to be forced back down by Tsunade.

"Yes, yes, as he said we'll make sure to get you caught back up, so don't think of this as a half day, think of it as your warmup for next time," Tsunade said slightly sadistically.

Naruto nervously laughed. He turned around, and waved at Sakura, who waved back. He then took several steps west, towards the village, but suddenly paused.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto shouted, "I forgot to dismiss my clones. That would have been a rude surprise!"

Naruto formed a ram seal.

Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Wait! Not all at-"

Kakashi was interrupted by a large poof of smoke, as Naruto's eyes went wide, the memories of thousands of his clones rushing back to him.

"Once."

Naruto staggered backwards, as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Kakashi tried to stand up once more, but was forced back down by Tsunade, who started to dash to Naruto.

A pop echoed through the clearing as a small burst of leaves and smoke appeared behind Naruto. The smoke slowly cleared, revealing Jiraiya holding his beloved student.

Tsunade smiled warmly at her teammate.

"Showing up just barely on time like usual, huh?"

Jiraiya frowned as he threw Naruto over his shoulder.

"Bah I have no idea what you're going on about, I have perfect timing!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

Tsunade shook her head with a smile.

"Are you going to take him back home?" Tsunade questioned.

Jiraiya nodded.

"Yeah, and I'm going to get him packed. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

Tsunade frowned.

"Already? What happened while you were with the toads?"

"I merely got some reassurance and confirmation that I was doing the right thing. I just want the best for him. He's one of the few things I have left in this world," Jiraiya said with a slight smile as he looked at Tsunade.

Tsunade smiled back as their eyes locked in understanding.

The moment was broken by a cough.

"Ah, I hate to interrupt this moment," Kakashi interrupted, "But if we're done here, I'd like to go home and be forced to lay down on a soft bed instead of being forced to sit on the hard ground."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and turned to Kakashi.

"Fine, go ahead, but take it easy. Or else."

Kakashi nodded as he finally stood up from the ground and walked away.

Tsunade turned back to Jiraiya and let out frustrated sigh.

'Why did he leave? I had more questions for him!'

* * *

Naruto turned in his bed and dug his head into his pillow. Feeling a slight breeze, he moved his arm to reach for his blanket. Not feeling it anywhere near him, he blindly moved his arm around the floor near his bed. Feeling only the cold floor, he huffed, and cracked his eyes open. He winced as a bright light blinded him. He quickly blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. Looking around, he saw he was on his living room couch, not his bed. He stood up with a yawn and stretched out his arms.

'What happened last night?'

Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he walked to his bedroom. He opened the door a turned on the light. His eyebrow started to twitch as a look of disbelief came over his face.

"Why the hell are you sleeping in my bed you perverted bastard!" Naruto yelled at the now awake form of Jiraiya, whom fell out of the bed in shock.

Jiraiya jumped up from the floor, and straightened his clothes.

"I'm getting old so I thought it'd be better if I slept in your bed so I don't wake up with a sore back," Jiraiya said dryly.

Naruto stared and threw his arms up.

"Fine, whatever. Why are you here?"

Jiraiya picked up a scroll that was sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. He threw the scroll to Naruto, who caught it.

"We're leaving, I've already packed your things."

"Leaving? Do we have a mission?" Naruto questioned.

Jiraiya shook his head.

"No, it's for your training."

A wide smile broke out on Naruto's face.

"You're training me again? What are we gonna go over this time, huh?" Naruto asked as his body shook with excitement.

"I'm not going to teach you."

Naruto recoiled as if he had been slapped.

"What? Then why are we leaving? If you're not teaching me, why can't I just stay here with Kakashi-sensei?"

"Because it's time for you to go back to Hakkai."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, puzzled.

"Who?"

Jiraiya facepalmed.

"That guy in the forest who promised to help you control your power and fulfill your destiny!" Jiraiya yelled.

Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly.

"Ah, yeah, that old guy. Do you really think he could help me?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"I believe he can, even though I don't want to hand you to another person quite yet. You are my star pupil and I can't have anyone else taking credit!" Jiraiya jested.

Nartuo smiled warmly at Jiraiya.

"Fine, fine. Can I at least say goodbye to my friends?" Naruto questioned hopefully.

Jiraiya simple stared at Naruto.

"Gah, whatever," Naruto huffed, "Let's just get going so I can get back faster."

* * *

A constant ticking echoed through the large room. Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable in the deceptively hard loveseat he was sitting in. Opening his eyes, he glared at the silvered haired man sitting in a reclining chair. The man took off his circular glasses, and cleaned them using a small purple cloth. He looked through the glasses, and placed them back on his face, satisfied at their new cleanliness.

"You may be wondering why I have asked you here today, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said with a smile, "Quite frankly, we can't have you kill our comrades, just because of a little hissy fit over a dead person."

Sasuke's eyes instantly morphed into a black and red pinwheel pattern.

Kabuto raised his index finger, and wiggled it at Sasuke.

"Nuh-uh, this is exactly why Orochimaru-sama asked me to speak with you," Kabuto looked fearlessly into Sasuke's eyes, "You see, you're letting your anger get the best of you, and we need to fix that, so I was appointed to help you through this time of loss."

Sasuke grunted in disapproval as he commanded his eyes to return to their normal onyx color.

"Since when has Orochimaru ever cared about how anyone is doing?" Sasuke snidely commented.

With a smile, Kabuto answered without hesitation.

"We always care about our shinobi, for you are the sword that Orochimaru-sama wields to bring betterment to our humble village. A damaged blade cannot work as efficiently as one that is carefully attended to."

Kabuto leaned back in his chair as a wicked smile overcame his face as he continued.

"However some blades tend to be irreparable, but they can be melted down and used for other purposes. Fortunately, shinobi generally get to choose if they wish to be restored to their former glory, or used for spare parts."

Sasuke sat up straighter, the threat ringing in his ears. He knew his new eyes gave him tremendous new power, but exactly how strong? Could he defend himself for Orochimaru, or had the conniving snake already devised counter measures to his accursed new abilities.

Sasuke growled in frustration, and slumped into the loveseat.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with."

Kabuto smiled at the black haired teen.

"Now the first thing you need to understand, is that none of this would have changed, or can be changed."

"Bullshit!" Sasuke growled out, "If I was stronger and was there, I could have saved him!"

Kabuto raised his hand to stop Sasuke from continuing.

"But if they knew you were going to be there to back him up, it is just as likely that his murderers could have called in backup, and you'd both be dead," Kabuto said in a seemingly caring voice "You see, we could go through what ifs until the end of time, but we will still end up here. Naruto was murdered, and the only thing you can do is bring his killers to justice."

Sasuke crossed his arms.

'Justice?' Sasuke thought, 'Justice is what got me into this mess. If I had listened to everyone in Konoha and gave up on bringing Itachi to justice, none of this would have happened.'

Sasuke paused as his mind lingered on his elder brother, the man who murdered his own family to test his power.

'Itachi, you had these eyes that night. Did you feel the same way I did?'

Sasuke shook his head slightly.

'No, you are a monster.'

Sasuke's mind was instantly filled with memories before the death of his family at the hands of his brother. How Itatchi had always been there for him, supporting and loving him, even if it was just a simple poke on the forehead.

'But, you weren't always this way. What caused you to gain this curse?'

"What are you thinking about, Sasuke-kun?" Kabuto asked, his pen at the ready to write down Sasuke's response.

Sasuke closed his eyes, and clasped his hands together with his thumbs sticking out. He rested his chin on his thumbs, and spoke.

Kabuto frowned in frustration at the muffled noise coming from Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, but I can't understand you when you're talking into your hands."

Sasuke moved his hands.

"So I need to accept the truth?" Sasuke questioned.

"The truth that there is nothing you could have done, yes," Kabuto replied cheerily.

Sasuke nodded his head.

"Alright, I can try that out."

'I just need to find out what the truth is. But how?' Sasuke thought to himself.

Sasuke stood up from his chair, and started to leave, when Kabuto's voice stopped him.

"I'm assuming this is the best we're going to get this session?"

"I suppose. I do feel different now, I guess I should thank you. I may meet with you again after I can fully accept this supposed truth," Sasuke said, walking away as he finished his words.

'That is, if Itachi will give it to me.'

* * *

Jiraiya marveled at the grassy crater before him. He had been here barely over a week ago, and the crater had gone from being a barren mess, to flourishing with plant life. There were wildflowers and tall grasses all through the crater, and there were even several saplings that had sprouted from the ground.

'This is almost unbelievable. The flora should have not progressed anywhere near as fast.'

Jiraiya's eyes widened as a nearby sapling let out a creak and started to twist, grow and expand. The creaking stopped seconds later, leaving the sapling nearly a foot taller than it had been.

"Naruto, did you see that?"

There was no response. Jiraiya looked behind himself and saw Naruto staring into the forest.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted.

Naruto flinched at Jiraiya's voice.

"Gah! What was that for?"

"I asked you if you saw that tree grow."

Naruto shook his head.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention, I got distracted."

"Distracted? By what?" an angry Jiraiya asked.

"I just thought I saw a really big spider, like, almost as big as you are Ero-sennin," Naruto shuddered, "Why couldn't we bring erm, Kiba and Hinata's team mate, the one with the shades, uh Shino! That's right. Why couldn't he come with us, huh?"

Jiraiya eyebrow raised. His protégé had never shown arachnophobia before.

"I didn't know you were afraid of spiders, when did that happen?"

Naruto crossed his arms and frowned.

"I'm not afraid of spiders, it's just the last time I went into a dark spooky forest, I got eaten by a giant snake, and I'd rather not get eaten by something in this dark, spooky forest."

"But you've been through here before when you went back to Konoha, were you afraid then?"

Naruto blinked slowly as realization came to his face.

"This is that forest? No way! This place is completely different!"

This statement shocked Jiraiya.

"What do you mean it's different?"

"Well the other one was nowhere near as dark, and there were way less trees! I also didn't have this strange feeling that something is going to happen."

"So it has changed drastically since you were here last?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well hopefully it is the same as when I was here."

Jiraiya looked at the forest and closed his eyes, trying to recall the vision the large tree gave him of the forest. With every second of thought, his mind became hazier, his memory starting to fail.

'That's odd. I'm fairly certain I used to know where to go, but something is not right. Maybe I can hear the song again.'

He stood still for half a minute, and heard nothing. Frowning, he looked into the darkness of the trees, and saw nothing. He turned to look at Naruto, who was also staring.

'Well, I guess we can go in, even if I don't hear the song. Hopefully we can find our way. I am supposed to bring Naruto here so maybe Hakkai has a way to help out,' Jiraiya thought optimistically.

Jiraiya shook Naruto's shoulder, and walked past him into the forest. Jiraiya looked behind himself, and saw Naruto following.

The pair walked through the forest for several minutes, until Jiraiya suddenly stopped.

Jiraiya looked around and saw nothing but trees. He looked up to the canopy of the forest, and saw a single beam of light that seemed to fall into the distance further ahead. He scanned the forest floor once more, and sighed.

'Well, it's better than nothing. Too bad that music is gone.'

Jiraiya checked on Naruto, and motioned for him to follow.

The two continued through the forest, Jiraiya keeping his eye on the beam of light.

"Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya turned towards Naruto.

"What is it?"

"Do you feel like we're being watched?"

Jiraiya nodded his head.

"Last time I was here, something was watching me, but it did not do anything. I'm not saying we should disregard it, but we should continue on."

"Do you know where we're going? This all looks the same to me, it's like we're going in circles."

"I actually don't. My previous method of finding my way to the temple isn't working, so I'm just following the light."

"What light?"

Jiraiya looked up and pointed at the canopy.

"That li-"

Jiraiya froze as he looked up and saw the beam of light was gone. He closed his eyes, counted to three, and opened them. He still saw no light.

"Y'know what, how about you take point for a while," Jiraiya said in frustration, "You're supposed to be the one here for training, not me! Not even sure why I'm in this damn forest."

Naruto smiled uneasily as he stepped past Jiraiya. With his first step as the lead, an air of foreboding weighed down upon him. He took his second step, as a crackling came to his ears, and a strange sense of familiarity mixed with the foreboding air. His third step brought the sound of a crying child to his ears, as the crackling grew louder.

A considerable heat started to cover Naruto.

'Fire'

Naruto looked to his sides as images of burning hot flames flashed in his mind. He looked back forward with his fourth step. The forest seemed to suck Naruto through it, as the sound of a woman hushing a baby came to his ears. Naruto closed his eyes as he took his fifth step.

A roaring, yet gentle, voice echoed through the forest in a foreign tongue that Naruto strangely recognized.

"Bring the destined baby to me, my children."

Naruto opened his eyes and froze. The darkness of the forest opened up, revealing a colossal tree. The tree seemed to have a face, and its branches shook with life. Naruto looked around the tree and saw many small children in green clothing hiding between the emerged roots of the tree. Naruto looked at the face of the tree, which stared back.

"So you've come," The tree said, as a wave of green energy pulsed towards Naruto.

The wave hit Naruto, who raised his arms in defense, as he felt himself pushed backwards through the forest.

"Naruto! Are you okay?!"

Naruto looked around, and saw Jiraiya behind him, a worried look on his face. Naruto swallowed and took in a deep breath, and turned forward.

"Yeah I'm fine, and I know where to go," Naruto said as he dashed through the forest, ignoring Jiraiya's cries for him to wait.

Naruto dodged trees as he ran forward on instinct, ignoring everything around him. The trees around him became sparser, causing Naruto to slow down. Through the trees, he saw a clearing. With a quick burst of speed, he ran to the clear area. He slowed himself to a stop, as he marveled at the sight before him.

In the center of the clearing was the tree from his vision, however it appeared to have turned grey. Naruto looked up at the tree's branches, as several dead leaves floated through the air.

"Dammit, Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted from behind him, startling Naruto, "When I tell you to stop, you stop! You understand me!"

Naruto winced at his tone.

"Yeah, I understand," Naruto responded quietly, "But I felt like I was drawn here and I had to come."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto, concerned.

"Alright, but be careful. I can't have my best student run off on me. What does that say about me as the ultimate teacher?"

Naruto chuckled.

"Bah, you wouldn't notice anyways. You'd be too busy trying to get into some girl's pants."

Jiraiya shrugged in agreement.

"I mean you're not wrong. She'd be better company too."

Naruto sighed at his master's antics.

"The Old Man's place should just be around the other side, right?"

"I think so. Unless things have changed, which apparently is entirely possible."

The duo circled the perimeter of the clearing until they came across the large stone archway that marked the path to the temple. Silently, they followed the path to the next clearing.

Naruto and Jiraiya stopped as they saw the temple towering over the ruins around it.

"Wow," Naruto whispered, "I didn't look back when I left, this thing is amazing."

Jiraiya nodded in agreement as he led Naruto to the door. Once more, Jiraiya looked at the engraved mahogany door. He raised his fist, and knocked. The sound echoed through the entire clearing.

Twenty seconds passed with no response.

"Maybe he's taking a nap?" Naruto suggested.

"Well he is in his eighties, so that is entirely possible."

Jiraiya knocked once more.

A couple of seconds later, the door creaked open, revealing Hakkai in a white kimono, with a rust colored trim.

Hakkai smiled widely.

"Oh, Jiraiya! Naruto! How good it is to see you again!" Hakkai said cheerly as he opened the door completely, "Please, come in!"

Naruto looked at Jiraiya, who nodded his head. Naruto walked into the temple and smiled at the familiar sight.

Hakkai pointed at a door at the far end of the left balcony.

"Your room is down there. If you'd like, you can move things around. Make yourself at home!"

Naruto nodded his head, and went to his room.

Hakkai looked at Jiraiya, who smiled and shook his head.

"I'm afraid I must be going soon and can't stay long. However, there are a couple of things I would like to speak with you about."

"I understand, my friend. What can I help you with?"

"First, one of my conditions for allowing Naruto to train with you is for him to check in with his toad summons daily to see if he is needed back in Konoha," Jiraiya said sternly, prepared to negotiate or retrieve is prized student.

Hakkai nodded in agreement.

"That is a wonderful idea," Hakkai said happily, "It will be good for him to have someone besides this old man to speak with, and I do not wish to disturb your village affairs."

Jiraiya blinked slowly.

'Heh, I guess Shima-sama was right. That definitely makes this easier.'

"Second, how much time will he be losing?" Jiraiya asked as he removed a pencil and paper from his vest, "Last time I was here, you said that time flows slower in the temple than out here."

"Oh that is definitely a good thing to check on," Hakkai said with a smile, "Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, the spell seems to finally be running out of power. The time he is losing is barely noticeable. If he were in here for a day, merely seconds, possibly not even a second, of additional time will have passed out here."

A somber look fell upon Hakkai's face.

"Truly he is the destined hero."

"What do you mean unfortunately?" Jiraiya asked as his eyebrows furrowed.

Hakkai looked at Jiraiya with a sad smile.

"Well to guarantee that I would live long enough to meet the hero, my life was directly connected to this temple and the goddesses' powers. When the spell ends, my life ends, or if I venture to far from the source, my life would fade as well."

Jiraiya looked closely at Hakkai's face. He instantly saw that he appeared older. His face was more wrinkled, and his skin was paler. Hakkai's seemed exhausted, and it seemed as though the old man was attempting to conceal a shaking left arm.

"Well, my last matter of business is, well, what should I do, as a sage?"

Hakkai's usual bright smile returned to him. He began speaking in a foreign tongue that Jiraiya had never heard before, but could somehow understand.

"I see you have accepted your destiny, oh Sage of Light!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened as a faint brownish aura appeared around Hakkai. He opened his mouth to speak, but could not find any words.

Hakkai smiled, as he pulled out the purple velvet bag. He held it out to Jiraiya, who took the bag after returning his notepad to inside his vest's inner pocket.

Jiraiya opened the bag, and looked in. Inside he saw four medallions.

Hakkai's voice tore Jiraiya's attention from the bag.

"Take these and return them to their rightful owners. The green medallion for the Sage of Forests. The red medallion for the Sage of Fire. The blue medallion for the Sage of Water, and the purple medallion for the Sage of Shadows."

Jiraiya pulled the golden drawstrings of the bag closed, and placed it inside his pants pocket. He swallowed as he once more found his voice.

"How will I know who they are?"

Hakkai chuckled as he held his arms open.

"Why it's easy. You should be able to see a faint aura around them. But be careful, some people would rather live in the present than accept their destiny," Hakkai said cryptically.

Hakkai stepped backwards, further into the temple, and grabbed the door.

"I hate to shut you out, my friend, but you have a mission for the betterment of the world," Hakkai said in a strong voice.

Jiraiya nodded as Hakkai started to close the door. He turned around and took a step, but quickly turned around.

"Wait!"

Hakkai stopped closing the door, a puzzled look on his face.

Jiraiya opened his vest, and placed his hand over a small seal. There was a small puff of smoke, as a small scroll materialized in his hand. He held the scroll out to Hakkai.

"If you could give this to Naruto, and tell him he'll know when to read it."

Hakkai nodded and took the scroll.

Jiraiya turned around and walked away from the temple as the sound of the large wooden shutting echoed through the clearing.

* * *

A/N2: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know if you see any grammar or spelling errors.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: SURPRISE! I actually did the thing! Two chapters in a single month? What madness is this? The good kind of madness. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter. Please let me know if you see any grammar or spelling errors. Thanks so much for reading, and if you'd like, leave a review!

Disclaimer: I do not now Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything else I reference. I do have some gum though! I even have enough to share with uh, one other person. FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!

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The sound of a door creaking opened broke the silence within the small room, as a beam of light illuminated the darkness within. With the door all the way open, Naruto stepped in the room. When his foot hit the floor, a small puff of dust covered his foot.

On the far end of the room in the corner was a twin sized bed. The bed was covered in a simple white sheet. A pillow rested on the bed near the corner. At the foot of the bed was a small dresser that touched the other corner of the room. The dresser was made of oak, and appeared to be used as a nightstand as well. On top of the dresser was a small red and white box and a gold candle sitting on brass candle holder. Hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room was an unlit lantern.

Naruto took the scroll containing his supplies that Jiraiya had given him, and threw it across the room and onto the bed, causing dust to explode and cover the room. The dust tickled Naruto's nose, causing him to sneeze.

'Ugh, I don't want to spend my first day cleaning up this place.'

Naruto walked up to the lantern, and wiped the dust off the glass panel. He looked inside and saw four short candles. Naruto turned his gaze to the nightstand, and the small box. He stepped over to the desk, and grabbed the box. He looked at it and saw it was a box of matches. He pushed the box out of the covering, and took out a small black match with a red tip. He struck the match against the striking strip on the box, causing the match to burst into a small flame. He carefully guarded the flame, trying not to blow it out as he lit the candle on the desk. The candle easily accepted the flame, dimly lighting the room. Naruto picked up the candle, and moved over to the lantern. He opened the glass panel, and used his lit candle to light the lantern. The lantern dimly lit the room, allowing Naruto to see without too much strain. He returned the candlestick to the dresser, and blew out the light. He then moved to the bed, and opened up the scroll he had thrown onto it.

Starting from the left, he looked at the symbols on the scroll, until he got halfway through. He stopped at a symbol sitting at the bottom of the middle, and smiled. He placed his hand over the symbol, and channeled chakra into it. There was a puff of smoke which quickly faded, revealing a half-eaten cup of instant ramen and a pair of chopsticks.

'Man, I'm so happy Jiraiya didn't let me finish this last night. I'm starving!'

Naruto took a quick bite and plopped on the bed. The bed responded by covering Naruto and his ramen in dust. Naruto stared into nothingness as he processed what had just happened. He looked into the cup as he vaguely saw bits of dust floating in the little remaining broth, and clinging to the insides of the cup. He stood up from the bed, turned around, and placed the cup on the scroll. With a puff of smoke, and a single tear drop, the now ruined ramen was sealed into the scroll. Naruto gripped the bed sheet with both of his hands and hung his head.

"Naruto?" came a voice from behind the brooding teen.

Naruto turned around, and saw Hakkai looking at him with a worried face.

"Huh? You need something old man?" Naruto asked, trying to cover up his sadness at the untimely demise of his meal.

Hakkai held out a scroll to Naruto, who took it.

"Jiraiya told me to give this to you, and that you'd know when you'd need to read it," Hakkai said warmly, "Also, we agreed that you should speak with your toad summons each day in case orders came in for you."

"Huh, well I guess that makes sense, and thanks for the scroll!" Naruto said excitedly, "Now, when do we start my training?"

Hakkai laughed at Naruto's enthusiasm, refreshed at the life the teen had already brought to the temple.

"We will start your training in the morning," Hakkai said joyously, "You've been travelling for at least a day or two, and you should relax and get to know your surroundings first. Do you have any questions for me?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah I got two questions for ya old man. One, why is the rest of the temple so well lighted, but this room has, like, four candles for the entire room? Two, when's the last time someone dusted this place?" Naruto asked as frustration started to fill his voice.

Hakkai looked around the room for the first time, seeing the dust covering the room.

With a nervous chuckle, he replied. "Well, this is a temple, and it wasn't exactly designed for more than just a single high priest living here. Because of that, you'll be sleeping in what was a storage closet that my Queen placed a bed in for when you'd arrive. Storage rooms don't exactly need that much light. As for the dust, well, I didn't exactly have an idea of when you would arrive."

'I also forgot that you would be coming, but you don't need to know that' Hakkai thought mischievously.

"But what about that room I was in the first time I was here?"

"That was my room that I graciously allowed you to be unconscious in."

Naruto's shoulders fell as he accepted the fate of his dusty and dark room. He straightened himself up a few seconds of sulking later.

"Fine, I can accept the room," Naruto quietly said, "But what else do I need to know about this place before we can start training?"

Hakkai smiled slightly.

'This boy sure does have a one track mind,' Hakkai thought with a mental laugh, 'Ah what I wouldn't give to be young again, but my time has passed.'

"I'll give you a short tour of the temple so you'll know where everything you need is," Hakkai said as he turned around and walked to the door. He turned his head back towards Naruto and motioned for him to follow.

The two exited the room and stood on the balcony.

"Now the first thing I'd like you to notice, Naruto, is that the temple is symmetrical on both sides," Hakkai said as he pointed to the rooms on the other side of the balcony. He pointed out four doors spaced unequal distances apart, "Now the room sizes differ, with them getting larger as they get closer to the door. We'll start with this side, and end on the other, after which I will retire for the rest of the night. Getting old isn't as fun as some people make it seem you know. When we are done, you can have dinner if you wish."

Naruto's stomach growled at the mention of food, leaving Naruto blushing in embarrassment.

Hakkai looked at Naruto, amused.

"On that note, let us not dally, and begin with the tour!" Hakkai said, filled with energy.

Hakkai walked over to the balcony, and looked over the lower area. Naruto stepped beside him and looked down.

In the center of the lower floor laid the gray sword in its pedestal. The hexagonal depression the sword stood in reached halfway across the lower floor. There was a large open space between the location of the blade and the wall. Plenty of room for light exercise and possibly other forms of training.

"Now, there are no individual rooms down below that I know of, so we will not go down there as a part of this tour," Hakkai said in a scholarly voice, "Some points of interest below include a nice open space, a grand view of the stained glass window, and many incredibly, if not overly, detailed tapestries. You remember those, correct?"

Naruto nodded his head, fearful of another long winded lecture from the large sage.

Hakkai smiled in return.

"Good. I was afraid I'd have to explain everything again. Let's continue!"

Hakkai led Naruto along the balcony for a few meters until they came across a simple redwood double door. The door had no defining features, and had no discernable lock. The door handles in the middle of the doors were a simple vertical twisted iron bar on both doors.

Hakkai grabbed both doors by the handles. The moment his hands touched the handles, a large white shield shape materialized on the door. Hakkai pushed the doors open, and walked into the room.

Naruto followed in, his eyes widening at the sight.

Inside the room on all of the walls were weapons and armors of all different types. On the left wall were several shields. Some of the shields were wooden, while others were metal. The wooden shields had various patterns, from goat horns to a strange red swirl. All of the metal shields seemed to follow the same pattern, a silver colored shield with a red bird underneath three golden triangles on a blue background. The wooden shields had various patterns, from goat horns to a strange red swirl. In a glass case on the in front of the wall was another of the metal shields. However, this particular shield looked as if it were giving off a faint golden light.

On the right wall were various types of weapons and tools. With a quick look, Naruto spotted at least 3 different bows, two boomerangs, and a giant spiked ball. Among all of these weapons, he also spotted a single long stick and what appeared to be a golden nut inside of a brown shell. Below the stick and nut were three flat and curved pieces of wood. Two of these pieces of wood had a small gem in the center, while the third was carved to look like a wing with a golden curve. Similar to the shields, there was another glass container in front of the wall, with this one containing three arrows. The arrows all touched at the nock. The arrows on the left and right pointed away at a forty five degree angle. The arrow on the left had a blue glow, while the arrow on the right had a red glow. The arrow between the two had a yellow and white glow.

Naruto looked ahead, and saw a large purple pillar in the middle of the room. On the left and right of the pillar, as well as front of the pillar, were armor stands. On the armor stand directly in front of Naruto was a chainmail shirt. The chainmail looked as though it would barely extend past the wearer's groin. On the right of the pillar was a piece of armor that was made from scales. The scales covered the chest area on the stand, while blue cloth extended past the torso, and from the shoulders to the middle of the upper arm. On the left was a set of jade armor. The jade armor was a half-breast plate, with red fabric and chainmail covering the front and sides. The armor also came with armored boots, which were also the same jade color.

While examining the armor, Naruto noticed that the pillar the armor was surrounding was very thin, as though it was an impromptu fix, as well as clashing with the marble pillars scattered throughout the temple. Naruto looked up at the ceiling and saw that out of the top of the pillar were three prongs stabbing into the ceiling. The blades were pitch black, with a red gem in at the end of the handle.

As Naruto looked at the trident, a feeling of dread set in his stomach. He forced himself to look away, and he walked past the makeshift pillar.

On the back wall of the room were many different types of blades. His eye was immediately drawn to a flashy blade with a golden diamond pattern on the blade and hilt. The blade had three diamonds of gold in a line, with steel filling the space to create the sword. His eyes moved from the golden masterpiece, to a sword that should have been too large for any practical use. The blade was possibly as tall as Naruto was. The blade had a simple blue cross guard with a yellow octagon in the middle. On the yellow part was a black stamp that looked like a footprint.

A moving figure in Naruto's peripheral vision caught his attention as he was admiring the large weapon. He turned to the movement, and saw Hakkai picking up a sword that Naruto swore looked like wood. The sword had green symbols painted on the side, and no discernable edge. The blade looked like it would do more damage if it was used like a club.

Hakkai gave the wooden sword an experimental swing, and looked at Naruto.

"If you haven't guessed it already, this is the armory," Hakkai said as he moved to exit the room, "Come now, you can ogle the weaponry later, we have more to see."

Naruto reluctantly followed the old man out of the room. The two walked along the balcony till the came across a door with a large symbol of a gem on it.

Hakkai opened the room, and stepped in, Naruto in tow.

The old sage clasped his hands together, and slowly opened them. In between his hands was a glowing ball of light. He pushed his hands out, causing the ball to enter into the previously dark room. The ball floated to the ceiling, where it expanded, shedding light on the entire room. Naruto's eyes widened at the show.

The room was twice as wide as the armory, and was stuffed with boxes and chests. Between some of the wood on the crates, Naruto saw papers sticking out. There were scattered hand tools throughout the room, as well as boards sitting near the door.

Hakkai chuckled as he sat down on a large wood and metal chest.

"And this is perhaps the most boring room of them all, the storage room. Here we have a whole bunch of old unimportant forms, our old currency, and tools needed to upkeep the temple, such as large holes appearing in the roof."

Naruto blushed and looked at the ground. Hakkai laughed in return.

"Oh don't worry boy," Hakkai said cheerfully, "I was able to repair that little hole in no time flat."

"Well I still feel bad about it happening though!" Naruto shouted out. He paused for a second as he thought about what Hakkai had said. "What kind of currency did you use?"

Hakkai sighed as he stood up from the chest.

"We used a currency called rupees. Unfortunately, you no longer use them, and they're probably quite worthless."

Hakkai opened the chest he was sitting on, and stepped aside.

Naruto's eyes bulged out at the sight.

The chest was stuffed full of gems of all sizes and colors. Naruto walked up to the chest and took out a green gem that fit nicely in his palm.

"Keep it," Hakkai nonchalantly said, bringing Naruto out of his stupor, "Only thing you could buy with that is a single arrow."

Naruto dumbly nodded and placed the green gem in his pocket.

Hakkai shut the chest and walked out the door. Naruto stared at the chest, his mind having gone completely blank. He felt a tug on his shoulder, and he let it turn him around. He looked at Hakkai, who had a puzzled look upon his face.

"Are you alright?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just I wasn't expecting there to be a large chest full of rubles."

"Rupees."

"Yeah rupees."

"Oh it's nothing a child couldn't get from cutting grass over the summer, now come, there is much more to see," said Hakkai as he walked out the room.

Naruto gave one more look at the chest, and left the room. The two continued along the balcony until the came across a door that was aligned with the statue of the man holding his blade towards the sky.

The door had a small sign with strange symbols carved into it. Hakkai opened up the door causing light to flood out from within. Hakkai made a startled jump, and reached to the left of the door.

Naruto watched as Hakkai quickly walked into the room and was now holding a metal watering can. He walked over to a tomato plant, and started to gingerly water it. Naruto stepped in, and his mouth dropped. The room was three times as wide as the storage room. To the right, Naruto saw a large amount of plants sitting underneath light which came from the ceiling. To his left, he saw a large kitchen, and a large double door in the middle of the far left wall. He looked back at Hakkai, who was carefully inspecting a small green tomato.

Hakkai turned with an apologetic face.

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot I was in the middle of watering the plants when you and Jiraiya arrived."

Naruto smiled and created a half-ram seal with his right hand. There was a small puff of smoke as an identical copy of Naruto came into existence.

"No sweat old man! Just let my clone here know which ones you need to have watered, and he'll do it for ya!"

Hakkai stared at the new Naruto before him

'This is absolutely fascinating,' Hakkai thought, mystified. 'To create such a creature with so little effort.'

"Oh thank you Naruto, I have a check list by the door that he can follow. It shouldn't take him too long."

Hakkai handed the water can to the clone, who nodded and moved to tend the plants.

"As you can see, this is our farm and kitchen area," Hakkai spoke softly, still marveling at the clone. He turned around and gestured towards the door at the far end. "That door leads to a large pantry where the ingredients are stored. We should have plenty of food, so feel free to make yourself a snack if you need it."

Hakkai blinked slowly as a dust cloud in the shape of Naruto slowly drifted past him. He turned towards the kitchen, and watched in amazement as twenty clones looked through the cupboards. One clone let out a triumphant cheer, and held out a pot. Half of the clones dispersed, while the others started operating a wood stove. The pot was taken by another Naruto, who filled it with water. The pot of water was passed along towards the stove, and placed on top. At this point, all but two of the Naruto's disappeared. One of the Naruto's stayed at the stove, while the other rejoined Hakkai.

"Ah, sorry old man, but I haven't had anything to eat in forever!" Naruto said with a cheeky grin as he scratched the back of his head.

Hakkai stared at the now mostly empty kitchen, boggled.

"I, well, yes, that, I mean, let's go on," Hakkai mustered out.

Naruto gave Hakkai a quizzical look. Hakkai ignored the blonde and exited the room.

With Hakkai in front, the two walked along the balcony, turned left, and walked past the front door to the temple. The kept walking until they met with the next turn on the balcony. They turned left once more, and continued their silent march until they came across another door that was centered on the statue.

The door had a set of symbols set in gold leaf at eye height. Hakkai opened the door, allowing a musty smell to rush out of the room.

Naruto peered into the room, and saw a sign right through the doorway. The sign had a picture of a loaf of bread, and a glass of water. They were both crossed over with a red X. Below the pictures were more of the strange symbols that he had seen throughout the temple. Past the sign on the far wall, he saw a large bookcase stuffed with books.

Stepping into the room, Naruto saw the room was filled with bookcases and books. He walked over to the bookshelf, and looked up. The bookshelf was nearly two and a half times his height, and there was no space for more books on any of the shelves. He looked over the room, and saw that all of the walls were covered by bookshelves of the same size, except for the wall to the far right of the entrance of the room. The wall was empty, and had a door similar to the one from the kitchen. In between the walls were tables and chairs. Several small book racks could be seen scattered throughout the room as well.

"This is the temple's humble library," Hakkai stated with pride, "We have everything from old lore and folktales to cookbooks." He then pointed to the door at the end of the room. "That room leads to a small prayer room where priests could commune with the goddesses in a place of peace and quiet."

"Why is a place of prayer connected to the library?"

"I have no idea," Hakkai responded honestly, "It was probably because they forgot to put one in until the last moment."

"Huh, I wouldn't expect them to do that."

Hakkai shrugged.

"They were human too. We all make mistakes. Now let's move on, we're almost done."

Hakkai led Naruto out of the library and onto the balcony once more. They walked until they came upon yet another wooden door. A stack of books and a cup was masterfully carved into the door.

The door was opened by Hakkai, who stepped into the room, closely followed by Naruto.

Inside the room was a fireplace that had a painting of an elderly woman above it, a table with two chairs surrounding it, some bookshelves sparsely filled with books, and an empty rack near the bookshelves.

Naruto walked over to the table, and saw three books laying on the table. He picked up the book nearest to him, and looked at the cover. It was bound in red leather and had a golden emblem on the front. The emblem was three slightly squiggled lines on top of each other. The top line had an attached circle on the upper right end of the line, and the bottom line had an attached circle on the lower left end of the line. Naruto opened the book, and saw it was filled with the foreign symbols. He flipped through the book, and stopped at a page with a large picture. In the picture was a large creature that looked like a rock, holding a gargantuan boulder over its head, straining to hold it up. The creature was placed in the middle of a small passage way with barely enough room for someone to pass on either side. Behind it was what looked like a land slide rushing towards it. There were more of the creatures who were running past the one holding the boulder, hurrying to safety.

Naruto studied the picture for a few seconds, and closed it. He held out the book to his side, and turned towards Hakkai.

"What's this book about?"

"That is the book Tales of Power, part of a trilogy of stories and fables," Hakkai fondly replied, "The other two in the series, Tales of Courage and Tales of Wisdom, are on the table."

He looked at the other two books on the table, one was bound in green, and the other in blue. He placed the book back on the table, and looked around the room.

"I'm guessing this is some kinda study area?"

"You would be correct. It also doubles as a dining area if you do not wish to eat in the kitchen."

Naruto saw a flash of orange behind Hakkai. He walked past the old man, and stuck his hand out the door. He felt a warm bowl placed into his hand, followed by a loud pop.

Hakkai jumped at the sudden noise and turned to Naruto. He watched as the teen slurped down noodles at an alarming rate. Hakkai forced himself to look away as he felt his stomach start to churn. He walked past Naruto and headed down the balcony and stopped a plain wooden door. Hearing a loud slurp and a content sigh, Hakkai turned behind him. He watched as a clone appeared next to Naruto, and took the now empty bowl from him. The clone ran off, while Naruto looked at Hakkai expectantly.

Hakkai pointed at the door with his thumb.

"This is my bedroom, and further down that way is the restroom," Hakkai said as he pointed towards the end of the balcony. He turned towards Naruto. "Now I'm going to go ahead and get some rest. Tomorrow we start your training. Do you have any questions?"

Naruto's brow furrowed as he thought.

"Well I'd like to know what we're going to do, but other than that, I think I'm good."

"Tomorrow we will do a light exercise, followed by a few lessons on a various topics such as, swordplay and magic," explained Hakkai as he held up the wooden sword in his left hand. "Now if you need anything, please knock on my door, but otherwise I'll s-"

Hakkai froze as he looked across the balcony.

"Eh? You alright old man?" a worried Naruto questioned.

Hakkai nodded.

"Yes, everything is fine, but I realized we didn't close any of the doors. That could have created a nasty draft, and I'm plenty cold as is. Could you go close them?"

Naruto stared dumbly at Hakkai.

'Cold? I'm burning up! There's hardly any breeze in here, and the fire lighting isn't helping out much!'

"Yeah sure, I'll go do that for you old man," Naruto stated as he walked away from Hakkai, "See ya in the morning!"

Hakkai shuddered as he opened the door to his room.

'Looks like I'll still need to eat by myself. He's like a vacuum that just refuses to stop. I don't think he even chewed any of his food!'

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A/N 2: If you'd like a little bit more detail about the temple, I recommend you refresh yourself by rereading the last half or so of the very first chapter and look up images of Hyrule Castle from Wind Waker, which this temple is heavily based off of. On a completely different note, have you ever watched a hot dog eating contest? Those things make me feel queasy. I can't imagine watching someone like Naruto who could do that with large bowls of ramen. Anyways, thanks for reading, and have a good day/afternoon/night!


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Well hello! Welcome back to the sometimes updated, Legend of Zelda: Child of Prophecy! It's been a while, but I hope y'all enjoy it. Let me know if you see any grammar or spelling errors, and please leave a review! On a different note, as has become my new also. Send help.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, or Naruto. I bought a cake once though. It was delicious.

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"And that's when I realized that walking straight into the forest that I had no recollection of was a bad idea, and that I was never going to make it out safely and had you bring me here," Jiraiya explained in a childish tone.

Fukasaku and Shima stared at Jiraiya, unbelieving of his mistake.

"It's a good thing you remembered before it was too late, but that still doesn't mean you were being stupid," Fukasaku said while the bashful sage looked away from the small toad.

"Yes it is, especially from what we learned from those disgraceful frogs!" Shima chimed in.

Jiraiya's eyebrow raised at Shima's mention of the toads hated enemy.

"You already spied on them and extracted information?" a bewildered Jiraiya questioned, "It's barely been a week!"

The two elderly toads scoffed.

"Bah, like those mush brained, slimy, bulgy eyed morons would take even half a second to fool!" Fukasaku ranted.

Shima nodded her head in agreement, while Jiraiya smiled in faux agreement.

"Well of course you could do it," Jiraiya said as though it was the most obvious thing his teacher had said, "I just wasn't thinking about it. So what did you find out?"

Fukasaku frowned at his student.

"You don't have to kiss up to me Jiraiya boy. We said we'd tell you as soon as we could. There's no reason to rush it," Fukasaku chided.

"And besides," Shima added, "We just returned and were about to send you a message that we were ready to discuss our discoveries."

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I've just been a little on edge lately."

Fukasaku and Shima smiled at Jiraiya.

"We know this is a tough time, especially for how much you care about Naruto," Shima soothingly spoke.

"My darling wife is right! You've sent on your beloved student to another who can teach him something you cannot, we know this feeling all too well," Fukasaku said knowingly, "Now get ready to take notes, we're only going to say this once."

With a thankful nod, Jiraiya created a shadow clone. He took out two notepads and pencils, giving one of each to his clone.

"When my husband and I arrived at the frog's homes, we immediately noticed that it had become even more of a mess than usual," Shima started, "Everything was overgrown, and their home seemed to be mostly abandoned. We wandered around for a good twenty minutes before we were approached by one of them."

Fukasaku snorted.

"The fool instantly thought we were one of them, and brought us to where they had been staying. They questioned why we were outside with all the danger, and we simply said we got lost while we were on a walk. Worst of all, they believed us!"

"Fortunately, they did find us and bring us in," Shima spoke with a sigh. She continued on with their explanation, "Not long after we were brought in, we could hear unnatural screams and saw plants starting to move on their own, forming a circle over some poor creature. The frogs told us that while we had been on our walk, the plants had returned to life, and the waters had overrun by strange slime and rock hurling monsters."

A somber look came upon the elderly couple.

"While I may not like them, I do not like the idea of life being cut short either," Fukasaku said in a dismal voice. He shook himself from his thoughts, and returned to his story. "The eldest of the frogs mentioned that the creatures out there were mentioned from millennia ago, from the time when twilight ruled over our land, and the rock throwers were even more ancient than that."

Jiraiya grit his teeth at the mention of the beasts. How could the darkness already advance this much?

Sensing Jiraiya's distress, Shima quickly continued where Fukasaku had left off.

"He then said that it is not long until the hero fully reveals himself to combat this darkness, and he could feel the power of the sages returning."

Jiraiya blinked and shook his head.

"He could feel the sages returning? Is there anything the sages could do to fight the darkness?"

Shima nodded her head.

"We asked the same questions," Shima replied, "The frog said that he could tell because he had acquired an object of one of the sages past, a green headband. Through this connection, he claimed that he could feel a strong aura starting to resonate from the land. We asked if the sages could do anything, and he said that the only thing they can do is prepare to assist the hero in any possible way they can."

"Did he mention any way to find these sages?"

Shima and Fukasaku looked at each other, trying their best to recall everything they had heard on their excursion.

"I'm sorry," Shima softly said, "I don't think he did, dear."

Fukasaku closed his eyes and crossed his arms, replaying the day in his mind. He took in a deep breath, the smell of his home bringing a comforting feeling. He had missed his home during the travel, and was ecstatic just to have the smell in the air get stronger as he neared it. His eyes snapped open.

"He did mention that the aura's size was constantly fluctuating. That could be a sign of how close the sage was, with the larger aura meaning they were nearby, as well as how strong the sage currently was," Fukasaku excitedly explained, "However, you'd have to have something from their lives in order to see where they are."

Jiraiya's hand gravitated towards his right pocket.

"That shouldn't be an issue."

Jiraiya took out the velvet pouch, and opened it. He poured the medallions in his hands, and hung the bag from his index finger. Jiraiya intently stared at the medallions, as though he were waiting for something.

Fukasaku and Shima looked at their student, curious.

"Boy, what are those?" Fukasaku questioned.

"Dear, be quiet!" Shima chided, "He's obviously concentrating on something."

Jiraiya focused on the medallions. He blinked slowly as he felt something start to caress him. He closed his eyes while the feeling covered him. He opened his eyes once more, and smiled. Around his yellow medallion was a large yellow aura, shining like the sun. He took the medallion in his left hand, and held it away from the others. He closed his fist over the medallion, and looked at the remaining ones in his hand. Each of the medallions had an incredibly faint glow.

'If Fukasaku is right, then this means that as I near the other sages these medallions will start to give off a stronger aura, just like mine,' Jiraiya thought, a feeling of joy and hope came over him. He put all of the medallions back in the bag, and tied it closed. He placed the bag back in his pocket, and smiled.

"Well Jiraiya, are you going to tell us what you were looking at?" Fukasaku said impatiently.

"I have a way to track them, but it's going to take a lot of walking," Jiraiya cheerfully responded, "Could you please send me back to Konoha? I have a long journey ahead of me."

The two toads nodded, and Jiraiya disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

'Thirty four, thirty five, thirty six.'

Naruto's huffs of breath filled his small room during his morning exercise. He took in a deep breath of air as he finished up his bicycle crunches, ending his routine. He started to stretch, taking in his, dark, and somewhat dusty room.

His sheets were haphazardly mushed in the corner of his bed, a product of his constant turning during his sleep. His eyes were drawn to the dresser, which had an open scroll on top of it. He was unsure if he should unpack his things from his sealing scroll, or leave them as they are.

'I'm kinda here until I'm told otherwise, I like a free schedule but man, why couldn't I get at least a general idea?'

Naruto stood up, and stepped over to his scroll. He squinted in the dim light as he looked for a specific seal. Finding what he was looking for, he activated the seal, revealing his bathing supplies. Gathering them in his arms, he moved towards his door. The door creaked open when Naruto neared it, revealing Hakkai.

"Ah, Naruto!" Hakkai happily exclaimed, "You're already awake, that's nice. Go put your stuff back, we're going to go ahead and jump right into your training. You can shower later."

Naruto nodded, and created a clone. He gave the clone the bathing supplies, and followed Hakkai out of the room, who had a surprised look upon his face.

'I don't think I'll ever get used to how casually people create these clones of theirs. In my time, doing something like that took serious concentration and effort!'

The old sage guided Naruto around the balcony, and down the stairs. He led Naruto to the large open area near the far wall of the temple.

Hakkai looked at Naruto and sighed.

"I assume that because you are sweaty and were heading to take a shower, you already did some morning exercises?"

Naruto nodded.

"While I appreciate your tenacity, I would prefer if you'd wait for me so I can guide you through some special exercises," Hakkai mentioned.

Naruto laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah, sorry old man! I'm just so used to doing this back home. Old habits die hard I guess," Naruto chuckled.

Hakkai smiled at the boy.

"That's perfectly fine," Hakkai said with a smooth voice, "My exercises are mostly mental anyway, and will be used a small break during your physical exercises."

Naruto nodded in affirmation.

'Man, it feels like just yesterday I would have been upset about mental exercise, but after everything I learned on my own, this just sounds right. If I'm gonna be the hero and Hokage, I gotta be smart and focused too!'

"Alright old man!" Naruto shouted, "What do I need to do!"

Hakkai chuckled at the boy.

"We'll skip the exercises for today, and start with them tomorrow," Hakkai said, much to Naruto's disappointment. "Instead, we're going to start with this."

Hakkai pulled out the wooden sword from his robes. He held out the sword to Naruto, with it laying in both of his palms.

Naruto grabbed the hilt with his right hand, and looked at the sword while walking backwards away from Hakkai. His eyes wandered over the blade, admiring the craftsmanship in the small green etchings in the sides of the sword. Looking back at Hakkai, he saw the old man holding a large wooden staff that was taller than the old man himself.

"We'll just see what you can remember for now," Hakkai said, gripping his bo in both hands. Hakkai took a defensive stance, with his left foot forward, and his bo pointing at Naruto. "Just do what feels natural. We will start when you're ready."

'What I remember?' Naruto thought, puzzled, 'I don't think I've ever used a sword. I usually just punch things.'

Naruto took a deep breath in, and exhaled slowly. He held the wooden sword in both his hands, and gave it a few experimental swings. He looked at Hakkai, and nodded. Naruto charged at the old man, and swung at him with a horizontal strike. Hakkai stepped back, causing Naruto to miss and overextend. Hakkai lightly bopped Naruto on the head with his staff.

Naruto exhaled sharply through his nose, and turned to Hakkai. He raised the sword above his head, and came down at Hakkai with his sword. Hakkai raised his staff in the air, and blocked the strike. Naruto gritted as he put more weight down on the blade.

"Naruto, can you see what you are doing wrong?" Hakkai questioned.

Confused, Naruto looked at the old man, and then at the sword and bo, which were still locked together. Naruto had struck down on the staff with the flat of his blade. He slowly withdrew his sword, and stepped away from the old man.

"You are swinging your sword like a club. Your blade is a weapon is a mixture of strength and finesse, not just brute force," Hakkai lectured. He readied himself in his defensive stance. "When you are ready."

Naruto switched to a one handed stance, holding the wooden sword lightly in his right hand. He took a step forward, and slashed at Hakkai with a horizontal strike. Hakkai raised his staff vertically, and blocked the blow. The sword harshly recoiled from the wood, and flew from Naruto's hand, clattering on the ground.

"Your grip needs to be firm, but just enough pressure so that you have complete control."

With a nod, Naruto went over and retrieved the sword from the ground.

* * *

A loud smack echoed through the temple. Naruto dropped to the ground, breathing heavily, his sword on the ground next to him. For an hour, he had practiced, and for an hour he had failed.

"How do you feel you did?"

Naruto looked at Hakkai, exasperated.

"I feel like I didn't do anything right," Naruto vented, "My stance was off, my swing was off, I was holding the sword too tight, I was holding it not tight enough. I don't know about this whole sword business. My fists worked before and always felt more natural to me."

"You did alright for your first time," Hakkai said to Naruto's surprise. With a smile at the teen, he continued. "I believe if you were using a real bladed weapon, you would not have tried to use it as a club for nearly as long as you did. You definitely have some basic ideas from your previous training, but you absolutely need some actual training. And I can understand your fists being more natural, they are your natural weapon of course. Now, why don't we take a break, and go over something new, yet equally important."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He reached for a glass of water his clone had gotten earlier in his training. He took a deep drink, indulging himself in the clear liquid. He stared at the glass before raising it over his head. He poured the rest of his water over him, cooling him down.

'This temple is like an oven. Lots of torches for light in a stone building mixed with training just isn't fun.'

Naruto leaned back and looked at the roof of the temple. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Hakkai clearing his throat. Naruto's attention returned to the old sage. Hakkai gave Naruto an amused look.

"If you're done watering yourself, we can move on to our next topic, magic."

Naruto's curiosity instantly spiked. He focused intently on what Hakkai started to say.

"Magic is a very useful tool that can be used from everything from combat to creation. The powers of magic can last for amazing amounts of time, such as with the enchantments on this very temple," Hakkai enthusiastically explained.

"So is magic kinda like jutsus? Every story I heard about magic was about, like, fireballs and stuff," Naruto said while he recalled stories from his younger years.

"It is very possible that magic was the precursor to your jutsus. Would you tell me more about them?"

"Of course! Jutsus are the manipulation of chakra to do super cool stuff like breath fire, summon things, or even heal people."

Naruto paused for a moment, and thought about what he said.

"Well, taijutsu is a jutsu, but that's mostly just fighting styles, but anyways, you can do cool stuff, like this!"

Naruto raised his index and middle fingers on both hands, and formed a cross with them. A small puff of smoke appeared in the open air beside Naruto. When the smoke cleared, a clone was revealed.

"That's rather interesting. Do you have to use those hand signs to do your jutsu?" Hakkai asked.

"Usually, until you use one enough that you don't have to, but that's a lot of practice," Naruto said as he put his hands in his pockets. Another puff of smoke appeared behind him, signaling he created another clone. "Which I have had a ton of practice with making clones."

Hakkai internally smiled at Naruto's showing off.

"I can think of one distinction from magic and jutsu already. Both magic and jutsu use an internal energy, but your jutsus, as you call them, use mostly hand signs, while magic is almost always word or thought based, with some exceptions. Along with that, while magic doesn't have to have a focus, like your hands with your usual jutsu, it is always stronger with one. For example, if I cast a spell of protection with just my thoughts, it would last a minute. However, if I used a focus like a wand it would last for three minutes."

Hakkai paused as Naruto contemplated what he said. After a few seconds, he continued.

"Now something interesting about magic is that the focus you use can have a huge effect on the spell you've cast. Let's go back to our spell of protection. Casting it without your wand focus, it lasts for a minute, when you use your wand it lasts for three minutes, but if you used the shell of a tortoise, the inherent protective qualities of the shell would cause your protection spell last for ten minutes. Does that make sense?"

Naruto slowly nodded his head.

"I think so, but if magic is just using your words and inner energy, why haven't people used magic on accident when trying to use jutsu?"

"That's because magic is highly dependent on using an ancient language that was the original version of my own language. However because of the changes in language throughout the ages, the ties to magic have most likely completely vanished. Even in my time, accidental casting of magic in our language was incredibly unlikely." Hakkai explained.

"Huh, but how did the original people not cast magic on accident more often?"

Hakkai blinked slowly. He had never thought of this before.

"I guess they just had more discipline? They were probably taught about the dangers which would help cut down on accidents."

"That actually makes a lot of sense. We were taught about the dangers of accidentally using our chakra in our academy," Naruto said as he thought of his days spent sleeping in class.

"Well with that all said, the first step to teaching you magic will to be teaching you my language and its precursor."

Naruto stared at Hakkai, his mouth slightly open in a look of disgust.

"Do I have to? I'd rather just go back to getting hit with your stick."

Hakkai laughed at Naruto.

"Unfortunately you must learn it. Some of the strongest tools to combat the darkness are heavily seeped in magic. And besides, if you wish to grow stronger, you should adhere to some old advice, knowledge is power."

"Yeah but knowledge of a completely new language just sounds annoying."

"Well look at it this way, you can impress people by saying you speak three languages, Hylian, Ancient Hylian, and English!"

"English? I speak Japanese, not English."

"Odd. Japanese sounds very similar to English I guess, but nonetheless, you will be learning Hylian first. The basics in Hylian will help you immensely with Ancient Hylian."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms.

"Fine, but I'm not gonna like it."

Sighing, Hakkai rubbed his forehead, the stubbornness of the boy frustrating him.

"We'll take a short fifteen minute break and then get back to your swordsmanship. You'll get to start your new language tomorrow."

Naruto frowned at the activities for the next day, and stood up. He turned to walk towards the large staircase, but paused. He faced Hakkai once more.

"If you're from this ancient time, and I have to learn this really old language, which was the normal language for you, how did you learn my language?" Naruto questioned in a confused tone.

"I was given a little bit of divine intervention in the way of a unique divine translation spell that my queen gave to me years ago when she left me here."

"So, magic? That seems like a really convenient way to just learn a language. And why can't you just use that spell on me?"

"Well that's just how it was. My queen in her forethought created the spell to help me with my duty. The reason you can't use the spell is because all it does is translate the words I'm speaking. I'm currently speaking in Hylian, but the magic uses its unique divine properties to make it sound like your most well-known language. IF you were to use it, I may hear Hylian, but you would still be speaking in your native tongue."

Naruto groaned.

'All of these rules and specifics are really annoying. This is gonna be school all over again.'

* * *

A gentle breeze moved down the dark street, passing over the lone traveler. The traveler looked at the buildings to his left and right and then glanced at a piece of paper in his hand. With a sigh, he walked into the building complex on his left. He looked at the stairs in front of him and groaned. He ran his hand through his black ponytail, while a metallic rhythmic clank started to echo in through the complex.

He took his first step of the stairs, and paused. Looking down at his leg, he could see it visibly shaking. He turned his head and looked in his left hand at the silver lighter he was holding. He flipped open the lighter, and closed it, causing the metallic clank to ring out once more. He closed his fist around the lighter, and stepped on the next stair. He took a deep breath, and continued his journey.

He finally arrived at the top of the stairs, and exhaled slowly. He looked to his right and saw a door with the number 201 above the door frame. He walked up to the door, and raised his hand in a fist. He watched his hand shook for several seconds, and lowered his fist. He turned away from the door, and walked over to the guard rail. He looked over the village and he reached around his pocket with his right hand. Grabbing onto something, he removed his hand from his pocket, showing a carton of cigarettes.

He opened the carton and saw only three cigarettes remaining. He reached in and grabbed one of the cigarettes with his index finger and thumb. He placed the cigarette in his mouth, and closed the carton. He placed the carton back in his pocket, the sound of his lighter lighting breaking the silence in the night. He raised the flame to the cigarette, lighting it. With a clank, he closed the lighter and took a deep breath.

The warm smoke filled his lungs causing a small sense of euphoria came over him. He slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke. He looked at his hands once more, and saw they had stopped shaking while he took another drag on the cigarette.

Minutes passed while he finished the cigarette. Looking at the remaining butt of the cigarette, he flicked the butt off the balcony. The butt landed on top of a trash bin sitting below him.

With a deep breath, the man walked back up to the door. He raised his fist, and knocked.

Twenty seconds later, and the door opened, revealing the crimson eyed Kurenai.

Kurenai looked at the man who knocked on her door, recognizing him as Shikamaru, Asuma's student. She looked around and saw no one else. His eyes were puffy, and there was a smell of smoke around him. He refused to look her in the eyes, and he seemed to be at a loss for words.

Realization came upon her. She saw Shikamaru's mouth open, but she heard no words. She turned her head, feeling a wetness on her face.

'He's gone.'

* * *

A/N2: Had to end it on a sad note, unfortunately. I actually have a question I'd like to ask you. In the future, I will have to use a mixture of English, I mean, Japanese and Hylian. I was thinking of ways to distinguish, and I find Italics would be the easiest. While that's nice and all, it's rather bland and boring. Personally, I don't care for reading italics. Italics seems to just screw with my eyes and makes it harder for me to read things correctly. I'm not the one reading the story, just typing it, so I'll leave it up to y'all. Do you want italics, context only, or what? Bold could also work, but from what I've seen, bold is generally used for big things like fluffy fox demons or giant toads.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Here we are another chapter for the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THIS STORY WOOOOOO. I'm super proud to have made this story that I get to enjoy with all of you. I would like to give a special shout out to a dear friend who encouraged me to write this. If it wasn't for her, this would all still just be something in my head. With that said, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to her. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. Leave a review if you'd like. Here's to another great year of the Legend of Zelda: Child of Prophecy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the Legend of Zelda, or anything else I may reference. It's been a year and I still don't own the rights. Something must be wrong with my business strategy.

* * *

'Why do I always get assigned the complete idiots? Did I anger our leader somehow?' thought an angry large man with red and teal eyes. He was wearing a large black cloak with red clouds scattered on it. On his head he wore a black face mask with a white hood covering his head and neck.

He closed his eyes and mentally groaned. He turned his attention back to the loud noise on his left, to see if it was almost over.

"And so I fuckin' ripped the dumb bastards head off with my bare hands like he was made of fucking paper," shouted a man with purple eyes and grey hair that was slicked back, "And then his bitch-ass son calls me a demon, and man that really showed me. I felt so terrible! You know what I did to him to repent, Kakuzu?"

Kakuzu sighed as he recalled the story he had heard countless times before.

"You kicked him in the testicles and shoved your scythe through his chest. You've told me this story twenty eight times Hidan," Kakuzu replied, exhasperated.

"Correction, I fuckin' kicked him so hard in the nuts they came out his mouth and then I sliced his heretic body wide open!" the afformented Hidan replied with a loud laughter. "That's what you motherfuckers get when you don't worship our true god Jashin!"

Kakuzu snorted.

"You mean the motherfuckers besides me, our leader, Itachi, and everyone else in our group who could easily destroy you without blinking," Kakuzu slowly drawled out, venom seeping through his words.

Hidan rolled his eyes at his partner. He brought his hand to the necklace hanging from his neck, and held it in his hand, and asked his god for forgiveness.

"Bah, the only reason I don't kill you dumbasses this second is because you always send me on the best missions to kill fuckers for Jashin," Hidan arrogantly chortled. "Be happy that Jashin lets me stick with you bastards, otherwise I'd skullfuck ya like the rest of those bitches back in Yugakure."

"Oh really?"

In a practiced motion, Kakuzu flicked a hidden kunai from his long sleeve into his right hand. He moved his left foot in front of Hidan's right, and sweeped his leg. As Hidan fell, Kakuzu channeled wind chakra through the kunai and sliced off Hidan's head. Kakuzu grabbed Hidan's severed head out from the air skillfully.

"From where I stand, I figure it would be easy enough to just bury you out here and no one would care enough to come and find you."

Hidan glared at Kakuzu as blood fell from his neck. Kakuzu snorted once again.

"And besides, you're probably wrong about Jashin anyways and got suckered in to some forbidden jutsu," Kakuzu said in amusement as Hidan's head tried to bite him. "Now shut up or I'm taking you back in a bag."

Hidan mouthed words at Kakuzu, telling him to fuck himself.

Kakuzu picked up Hidan's limp body from the ground, and placed the Hidan's head on the neck stump. He watched in amazement as the flesh immediately started to fuse together.

"Poor bastard piss you off again?"

Kakuzu turned his head to see a large man in the middle of the road with greyish blue skin, blue hair, white eyes, and gill-like marks under his eyes. The man was also wearing the black cloak with red clouds. On his back, the man had a large bandaged sword strapped to him.

"He did," Kakuzu answered in a neutral voice, "Would you like to be next, Kisame?"

Kisame chuckled and gave a large smile, revealing rows of sharp, triangular teeth.

"Oh you could try, but then the boss would kill us both. The two of you are late, and he sent me out here after he sensed you two coming," Kisame said, his voice filled with humor.

"I see. Let us hurry. Hopefully the bounties I acquired on the way back will appease him." Kakuzu replied, a slight hint of worry seeping through his stoic façade. Kakuzu dropped Hidan on the ground, who let out a small moan of pain.

Hidan slowly stood up and stretched his neck. He stared at Kakuzu,

"You're a fucking cunt."

Kakuzu ignored the irate zealot, and followed Kisame, who had already moved ahead.

* * *

After an hour of walking, the trio had entered a forest, leaving the road they had been on through the plains. Shortly after entering the forest, they stopped at a large tree. The tree stretched into the sky, and was large enough that if hollowed out, it could make a cozy one room cabin.

"Why are all the bases and important things always in some big ass forest?" Hidan questioned, "Do we just let Zetsu pick the places? Huh, guess that shit makes sense. Fucking plant guy picks the forest."

Kakuzu groaned, and stepped in front of Hidan and Kisame.

"I mean he's not wrong," Kisame begrudgendly said as Kakuzu shot him a dirty look.

Turning his attention from the two behind him, Kakuzu put his hand on the large tree, and channeled chakra through it. The tree glowed green for a brief moment, followed by the tree splitting itself open, revealing a staircase leading downwards. Kakuzu quickly went down the stairs, Kisame and Hidan following close behind.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Kakuzu looked around the large hallway. The hallway was large enough for several people to be walking around at once without any issue. Each side of the hallway had evenly spaced doors with small signs hanging off of them. Three doors down on the right side of the hallway, Kakuzu saw a sign with his name on it. Looking around the hall, he smiled when he saw Hidan's name was on a sign six doors away. Kakuzu walked to his room. He was interrupted from entering by Kisame's voice.

"Make sure you're up before dawn tomorrow, the boss says we've got to start sealing the two tailed beast as soon as possible."

Kakuzu nodded, and opened the door. He took a step in, when Hidan's voice rang out.

"Fine, but we need to make it quick. I promised Jashin that I would finish of the bearded shitstain's students."

Kakuzu stepped back out of his room, and looked towards Hidan and Kisame.

"I agree with Hidan." Kakuzu said menacingly, "I don't like leaving business unfinished."

"That's fine with me, but you'll have to clear it with the boss. I'm not sure if he'll let you go. He and Konan have been acting strange, saying stuff about how something is wrong and the world is changing."

Kakuzu let out a dry laugh and shook his head.

"Of course the world is changing, it always does. I've been around longer than any of you children, and the world looks nothing like it used to. The only thing that stays the same is money."

Kakuzu stepped into his room and shut the door.

Kisame and Hidan looked at each other then back where Kakuzu was moments before.

"The fucks wrong with him?" Hidan asked Kisame.

Kisame shrugged, "I don't know, but it doesn't matter." Kisame walked across the hallway to his room. He stopped halfway and turned to Hidan.

"And by the way, after we seal the two-tails, we have to seal the three-tails. It's going to take a least a week, so whatever stuff you gotta do for your whole religion thing, do it tonight."

Hidan stared into space as Kisame entered his own room.

"A whole fucking week? God dammit."

* * *

Light and rhythmic breathing filled the room as Sasuke examined a scroll. He ran his finger over every seal, making mental notes of what was being stored within. Pleased with the scroll, Sasuke put the scroll in the pouch that was lying on his table. He stood up, and walked to his bed, where his sword lay next to its sheath. He picked up the blade, and examined it. Seeing no new imperfections, he picked up the sheath, and sheathed the blade. He tied the sword onto his waist, making sure he had easy access to the blade.

A creak echoed through Sasuke's room. Sasuke's head snapped to the sound. He saw Kabuto standing in his door frame, a puzzled look on his face.

"You asked for my presence?"

Sasuke nodded as he walked over to his pouch. He picked up the pouch, and strapped it on his waist.

Kabuto watched, as though he were trying to mentally solve a puzzle.

"Is there a reason you asked for me, or did you just want to waste my time?"

Sasuke paused. He looked up at the ceiling as recalled the feelings of loss he felt at the loss of his friend. He turned his head and looked at Kabuto.

"You said there was nothing I could have done, correct?"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow.

'Is he talking about our therapy session? Has he finally accepted he could have done nothing?'

Kabuto met Sasuke's gaze.

"That is right. There is nothing you could have done, you need to accept it, if you haven't already."

Sasuke chuckled as he closed his eyes. He shook his head, and stepped towards Kabuto, his chuckling turning to laughter.

"You're wrong."

Sasuke opened his eyes, revealing two red six prong pinwheels on his black iris. He stared at Kabuto as a blade of pure black flame materialized in his right hand. He brought the sword up and held it at Kabuto's throat.

Kabuto eyed the blade and the room, as fear started to grip his mind.

"Now, now, let's not do something we'll both regret."

Sasuke frowned at the silver haired man. With a quick jab, he pushed the black blade through Kabuto's throat.

Kabuto's mouth opened and his eyes widened in shock.

Sasuke removed the blade from Kabuto's throat, satisfied.

His satisfaction was short lived as Kabuto's body dispersed in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind a burning pillow.

Sasuke turned to his bed, and saw Kabuto lying on the bed. Kabuto had deep burn marks on his throat, which was barely covered by his glowing hand. A look of shock was on his face as he healed the wound. Sasuke looked at the blade in his hand, and back at Kabuto. With a simple command, the flame left his hand, and formed a cage around Kabuto.

"I wish to thank you for your help. I know the only person who has the truth, and it's time I paid him a visit."

Sasuke backed through the room, keeping an eye on Kabuto. When he got past the door frame, he darted through the halls.

'Ok, just passed the cafeteria, I need to turn, here!'

Sasuke turned and ran into the kitchen, his weeklong plan coming to fruition. He dodged counters and stoves as he headed to the kitchen's storage room. He arrived at a large double door, big enough to transfer large crates of food and ingredients with ease. He pushed open the door, his eyes widening.

In front of Sasuke was Orochimaru, a disappointed look on his face.

"Now, now Sasuke-kun, if you wanted a snack, you should have just asked one of the cooks to make you a meal."

Sasuke let out a roar of rage as he leapt at the sannin. Orochimaru simple leaned, dodging Sasuke's attack. Sasuke flew through handseals as a feral grin came upon his face. Finishing the seals, he spat out a large fireball towards Orochimaru.

Orochimaru frowned, and looked behind him. All of the food to feed the people in this base for the next two months was being stored here. He clasped his hands together, summoning a large wall of earth from the ground. The wall barely blocked the flame from destroying the food.

"Boy, stop this nonsense right now."

Sasuke ignored Orochimaru, as the sound of a thousand chirping birds filled the store room.

Orochimaru watched Sasuke charge him, unimpressed with the ball of lightning in the teen's hand. When Sasuke neared Orochimaru, he pushed Sasuke's wrist out of the way, causing Sasuke to waste his attack, he then pushed him back.

'I can't stop holding back,' Orochimaru thought worriedly, 'I need to talk sense into right now. If I started attacking him, he'd start using his Mangekyo Sharingan, and I have no idea what abilities he has with it.' Orochimaru dodged a lightning fueled swing from Sasuke's sword. 'Perhaps I shouldn't have helped him acquire this power.'

"Sasuke-kun, I am not stopping you, I just want to talk!"

Sasuke held his blade with both hands, poised to thrust at the black haired snake.

"What is there to speak about? I am leaving to find the truth, and you are standing in my way."

Orochimaru took in a deep breath, and smiled.

"Why are you leaving? Can't I continue helping you?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his grip tightened on his sword.

"Kabuto opened myeyes. I need to find out the truth. About Naruto, about my family, about my brother, I need the truth about everything!"

"And how are you going to get that truth? Are you just going to walk up to Itachi-kun and ask him for the truth? We both know he would attack and destroy you."

Sasuke swallowed, a defiant look growing on his face.

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Either way, I now have the power to keep up with him, and I plan on fixing everything."

"And what after that? Assuming you win, are you just going to fight through everything afterwards until you're satisfied with the answers? How long until people start lying to you just to keep you satisfied and themselves alive?"

Sasuke frowned at Orochimaru's words. He lowered his sword slightly.

"You wouldn't have let me leave," Sasuke said, the anger leaving his voice

"You never bothered to ask," Orochimaru retorted.

"Then what would you do?" Sasuke questioned cautiously, "You're a sannin. You're supposed to be wise."

Orochimaru frowned at Sasuke's question.

'What to say to keep him from Konoha and finding out Naruto-kun is still alive,' Orochimaru's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"I believe that instead of cutting through my allies, I would first ask them for help. After hearing their advice, I would then cautiously seek out information about where the people I am seeking have been last seen. No reason leaving now if they haven't been seen in months. After getting a lead, I would follow that lead, and do my best to catch my target alone, but in a populated area, so not to cause a huge scene."

Orochimaru's mind wandered to the destroyed castle he had left behind when he saw Tsunade three years ago.

"After I contact them, I would judge their willingness to comply, and ask questions based on whether or not I believe they will be of use. After that, I would retreat to my nearest hidden location, and process what I have learned before making another attempt at contact. After I have all my information from that source, I would return to my home and make a record of it. I'd then analyze my data, and make determinations from there, much like with my experiments."

Sasuke nodded along with Orochimaru's example. He slowly sheathed his sword, but retained his Mangekyo Sharingan.

"So when I get my information, return home and analyze my data."

Orochimaru nodded.

"That is correct. After you get your information, you may return here, and I'll be willing to personally assist you with whatever you need."

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru, hesitant to believe the conniving man. The deal seemed too good to be true.

Sensing Sasuke's unease, Orochimaru raised his hands slowly and slowly moved through the door, out of the storage room.

"I will not stop you, Sasuke-kun. You can go through the service entrance. Everything is clear and the doors are unlocked. I just hope you will remember the kindness I have bestowed upon you, and that you will treat me with the respect I have treated you."

Sasuke frowned as he backed into the storage room, keeping eye contact with Orochimaru. With a smile, Orochimaru turned from Sasuke, and walked further into the kitchen.

Orochimaru frowned as the sound of Sasuke's steps echoed through the kitchen. He made his way to the hallway, where he was greeted by the face of Kabuto, who was clearly in intense pain.

"W-why d-didn't y-yo-you st-stop h-him, O-o-oro-"

"Because I am not a fool, Kabuto," Orochimaru said, interrupting Kabuto who tried to speak through the pain of his throat burns, "With the awakening of those damned eyes of his comes power that even I fear. Itachi was able to use its powers to nearly unimaginable levels. His control of the power was simple awe inspiring. Knowing this, I do not wish to learn the uncontrolled mess that would spew from those eyes first hand. We would be fighting, I'd anger him, and the next thing we know, he drops a planet on me."

Kabuto nodded as he saw the reasoning. An uncontrolled flame could easily ruin the lives of all it comes across. Kabuto opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Orochimaru.

"You should spend your energy healing yourself, I still have big plans. First, I want you to get our best spies to follow Sasuke and make sure he does nothing foolish. Second, I want as much research done on the history of the sharingan as possible. Last, I need my things packed, it's time we return to Otogakure. I've noticed some changes in the wind and earth, and I have a bad feeling about it."

* * *

'Even if I got the kunai exactly in the way to stop the creation of the pattern, there's no telling if it would have stopped anything from happening.'

'But what if you mixed that with a false explosive to get him to move?'

'He's immortal, wouldn't work. He could just stand there and take it.'

'What if you separated his body with dumplings?'

'Dumplings? Why did I think of dumplings?'

"Dumplings are here Shikamaru!" A voice shouted, shaking the young teen from his thoughts.

Startled, Shikamaru looked up, and saw his portly pal Choji eating large amounts of dumplings at an alarming pace. On the table in front of him were several plates of different types of dumplings.

Shikamaru picked up his chopsticks, and looked at the small labels on the bamboo steamers the dumplings sat in. Finding the dumplings that were labeled as mackerel and kale, he grabbed a dumpling, and placed it in his mouth. He savored the flavor as he slowed his mind from his previous thoughts.

"So what were you thinking about, Shikamaru?"

Swallowing his food, Shikamaru looked at Choji, who had cleared an entire steamer of pork dumplings.

"Oh nothing important," Shikamaru said in a bored tone, "It'd be too troublesome to explain anyways."

Choji frowned at his friend.

"We've been best friends since we were little kids. I know when you're lying."

Shikamaru looked at Choji apologetically.

"Sorry Choji, it's just that I can't stop thinking about how I could have saved Asuma-sensei, but everything I think of has too many factors that I don't know. I feel like I should have been able to stop that bastard who killed him."

Choji stopped eating, and closed his eyes. Memories of the time spent with Asuma in team 10 coming to him.

"I know it's hard to not think about it, especially for you Shikamaru, but he'd want us to move on from what happened, and to look for a way to fight it in the future. As soon as we can, you, me, and Ino are gonna get permission from Tsunade-sama and kick that jerk's butt! Heck, we can even do it today!"

Shikamaru smiled at his teammate and best friend. Choji was right, and Shikamaru knew it. Rather than wasting time thinking of what ifs, he should be thinking of ways to defeat the evil man.

"We'll finish lunch first, right?"

Choji smiled as he bit into another dumpling.

"Of course we finish lunch first! It's one of the best of the five meals in the day!" Choji exclaimed with a mouthful of dumpling.

Shikamaru laughed as he ate his own dumpling. Happiness came over him as he enjoyed the company of his best friend.

* * *

"You want to do what?" Tsunade exclaimed in surprise.

"We want to find and kill the man who murdered Asuma-sensei." Shikamaru replied with a calm voice. "I've come up with a plan that should defeat him."

"You do realize that this is insane, right?" Tsunade said, trying to talk sense into the boy.

"We do, but the three of us need this, isn't that right?" Shikamaru said as he looked back at Choji and Ino, his blonde female teammate.

"Yeah, lazybones overhere is right! We weren't able to save Asuma-sensei then, but we should get a chance to redeem him!" Ino replied with gusto.

"Look at it this way, Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru started, "The three of us have the most knowledge of his abilities. It would also be a great way to get some information from him, especially considering he is in Akatsuki."

Tsunade studied the group before her. Shikamaru had a steeled face, preparing every counter argument his genius mind could come up with. Choji, while passive throughout his time in her office, looked ready to help Shikamaru and Ino in any way possible. Ino held a look that Tsunade had seen often on her student Sakura. A look that said she was getting her way no matter what she had to do to get it.

"I want the three of you to go train and prepare for a possible, not guaranteed, chance to go after this so called immortal. I'm going to see who we have available to assist you with this mission."

The three young ninja looked at each other, surprised and shocked that they had a chance to avenge their master.

"Well what are you waiting for? I told you to go train!" Tsunade shouted as she slammed her desk."

The trio shouted their thanks to Tsunade and fled the room.

When the three were out of sight, Tsunade let out a deep breath, and slumped over.

'Why does everything have to get difficult when both Jiraiya and Naruto are gone?'

Tsunade opened up the filing cabinet on her desk and began looking through who was available. Two hours passed as she lowered the number of potential candidates to assist the remnants of team 10. She stared at the three profiles in front of her when she sensed a familiar presence.

"What are you doing here, Jiraiya? Shouldn't you be working on the thing the toads sent you on?"

Jiraiya smiled at the blonde.

"I had business in Konoha and I thought I'd stop by here after a nice relaxing bath at the hot springs," Jiraiya replied happily.

Tsunade glared at the self-proclaimed super pervert.

"You weren't harassing my citizens again, were you?" Tsunade menacingly questioned, cracking her knuckles as she spoke.

Jiraiya laughed nervously and adjusted his collar.

"Well I didn't have time for leisure, although I wish I did. I actually just took a bath this time. I had some pressing matters to discuss with my spy network. What are you working on?"

Tsunade sighed and spread out all three profiles.

"I'm trying to find out who to send with Asuma's students to fight the immortal in Akatsuki."

"Grey hair or covered body?"

"Grey hair."

"Hidan. My spies have told me that he is a very dangerous man. His partner, Kakuzu, can be just as threatening, if not more, and the two are rarely separate."

"You seem to know a lot about them, want to help take them out?"

Jiraiya exhaled sharply through his nose at Tsunade's idea.

"I would love to, but I have other pressing matters I need to take care of first. I need to find a couple of people, and follow up some rumors on an old student of mine."

Tsunade gave Jiraiya a worried look.

"That sounds important, but it also sounds like a lot of work. You need to take a break sometime," Tsunade caringly spoke.

Jiraiya smiled at Tsunade.

"Oh don't worry, your twins always fill me with energy when I visit you!" Jiraiya said with a lecherous grin.

Tsunade's face instantly lit up in rage. She leapt from her chair, over her desk, with fist raised.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and braced for impact. The full weight of Tsunade landed on his chest. He felt Tsunade hang onto him. Opening his eyes, he saw Tsunade had buried her head in his chest in a hug. He returned Tsunade's embrace as he memorized the top of Tsunade's head, making sure he would recall every strand of her beautiful golden hair.

"Please be safe. I worry about you every time you leave. You go to so many dangerous places, it's a miracle you're still in one piece."

Jiraiya slowly rubbed Tsunade's back as he listened to her.

"It's okay Tsunade, I've done this lots of times. I just need to speak with some people, that's all. And besides, you still have Naruto."

Tsunade leaned back, and looked at Jiraiya.

"If you say so. Just, come back to me."

Jiraiya looked into Tsunade's eyes and smiled.

"I promise."

Tsunade smiled back as she stared into Jiraiya's eyes. The two slowly started to move in closer. Their lips neared, when the sound of an opening door alerted them.

The two looked over at the door to see Tsunade's assistant Shizune blushing.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't know I was interrupting something!" Shizune hastily said as she left the room.

Tsunade and Jiraiya let go of each other and looked away.

"Ah, good luck with your work, Tsunade."

"Uh, thanks Jiraiya. Stay safe."


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Well hello hello! I have returned with YET ANOTHER CHAPTER. This one is a little bit shorter than the others, but there are great things ahead! That is if I can find the time to actually work on them. Unfortunately life has not been kind, and my schedule has little room for my usual methods of writing. However, this only means I'll have to roll with the punches and figure out a better way to get these chapters out. In other words, this may be the only chapter for a while until I can figure out a better way to manage my schedule. In other news, thanks for all the suggestions on how to differentiate between "Japanese", Hylian, and Ancient Hylian. Hylian will be written using underscores, while Ancient Hylian will be written using underscores and **BOLD**. Hopefully this will keep everything nice and somewhat ordered as we get into the challenge of me pressing ctrl+u and ctrl+b a lot. Anyways, that's enough from me, it's time to get to the real reason y'all are here. Like always, I hope you enjoy it, and leave a review if you please!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the Legend of Zelda, or any other series I reference. But if everything goes according to plan, I should get a million dollars in my bank account after I help out my brother who is actually a Nigerian prince!

* * *

A harsh breeze swept over the flat and clear training ground, gently moving the blades of shortened and stomped grass. The wind caressed three teens and a large dog, all of whom were sitting in a semi-circle on the ground of the wide open field.

A boy in a large obscuring grey overcoat grumbled as he buried his head into the flared collar of his shirt. Next to him, a brown haired boy with red fangs on his cheeks took his hands out of the pockets on his leather jacket and leaned back while he stifled a chuckle. Laying on the ground next to the brown haired teen was a large white dog, whose head was in the lap of an oxford blue haired girl, who opened her mouth to speak.

Her words were cut short as a gust of wind blew her long hair into her mouth. She sputtered and gagged as she pulled out the betraying hair, and glared at it. She turned towards her brown haired teammate, who had started to speak to their cloaked companion.

"C'mon Shino, it's just a little scar!" Kiba loudly proclaimed, "You should be proud of it!"

Shino groaned and looked at Kiba, his face blank. With a huff, he put his right hand slightly below the right half of his ribcage.

"Pride?" Shino questioned in a flat tone, "Kiba-san, I take pride in many things. The expansion of my entomology career, achieving the rank of chunin at a young age, and much more." Shino turned towards Kiba and stared at him. "Having a permanent reminder that I was defeated by the undead and was unable to save my teammates from a similar fate is not something I would like. That's not even calculating the fact that it was a miracle we escaped in the first place."

Kiba leaned back and lifted up jacket and shirt to reveal numerous scars on his stomach.

"You're not the only one that has scars, pal," Kiba replied in a snarky tone. He pulled his shirt back down and smiled. "But unlike you, I use that ass whoopin' as a reason to get even stronger, right Akamaru!"

An awkward silence came as the large dog did not respond.

Confused, Kiba looked towards his four legged friend. Akamaru's eyes were closed as Hinata gently petted him. Kiba looked in disbelief as his canine compatriot dozed in the morning sun.

"God dammit Akamaru, you're supposed to back me up," Kiba grumbled.

"Akamaru simply understands that unlike you I have no interest in reminders of utter failure," Shino said coldly, "Besides, having to rearrange everything for my kikaichu is tedious and annoying."

"What about the other parts of the scar?"

"What other parts could there possibly be?"

Kiba scratched his chin in contemplation. An idea came to him and he looked back at Shino.

"Chicks dig scars," Kiba said, excitement in his voice.

Shino raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"I don't quite believe you."

Kiba scoffed at Shino.

"Everyone knows it!" Kiba said with confidence, "Women love scars, right Hinata?"

Hearing her name, Hinata looked at her teammates.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What were you asking about, Kiba-kun?"

"Shino is upset he got a scar from that stupid forest, but I'm trying to tell him that it's not that bad, especially because women love scars," Kiba explained.

Hinata looked past Kiba, glancing at Shino for further explanation.

With a huff, Shino spoke.

"If what Kiba-san says is true, perhaps these scars will help me be more noticeable. But I do not put it past our dear friend to stretch the truth behind the situation. So what do you think of scars, Hinata-san."

Hinata slowly closed her eyes, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

"Well, uh, I don't really have an answer for you, Shino-kun," Hinata quietly said as she opened her eyes.

Kiba snorted at the shy girl. Hinata turned towards Kiba, and frowned at the mischievousness on his face.

"Of course she won't like us, Shino," Kiba spoke with an air of humor, "Now if we had spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, then maybe she'd give us a response."

Hinata glared at Kiba, her face slowly turning red from embarrassment. Kiba smiled widely at his friend.

"I bet he has scars all over he could show you Hinata," Kiba teased, "I'm sure if you asked nice enough, he'd even let you touch em."

Hinata buried her face in her palms, her face completely red as indecent images of her well known secret love came to her.

"Kiba-san, that wouldn't happen," said Shino.

Kiba turned towards Shino, and frowned at the ruiner of his fun.

"Oh, and why is that?"

"If you recall, every time we have seen Naruto without a shirt he has never had a single scar, even from that one time Sasuke hit Naruto right on his chest with that lightning jutsu."

Pausing, Kiba examined his memories and found Shino's observations to be true.

"Huh, now that I think of it, you're right Shino!"

"Of course I am, so you can now stop avoiding my question by pestering Hinata-san."

"Yeah I'll answer it, but first, where is Naruto anyways?" Kiba asked, dodging Shino's request. "I haven't seen him in a couple weeks, but Sakura and that pale asshole are still here."

Hinata glared at Kiba.

"Kiba-kun, he is dead, he is not anywhere, remember?" said an annoyed Hinata.

Kiba's face scrunched in confusion at his team mate.

"Dead? Wuddya mean dead?" Kiba questioned, "We just saw him last week and he was perfectly fine!"

Shino elbowed Kiba in the side.

"Hinata is right. Naruto is 'dead'" Shino stated plainly.

Kiba stared blankly at his two teammates. He looked at Akamaru, who was still enjoying a nice nap on Hinata's lap.

Seeing Kiba's utter confusion, Hinata let out a sigh.

"Naruto-kun is faking his death to protect us and himself," Hinata explained calmly, "We do not know when he will be back, but we should try and get stronger so we can protect him and the village for when he does return."

A look of realization came upon Kiba's face as Hinata refreshed his memory.

"Oh yeah, that's right. So get strong while that blonde doofus gets strong too," Kiba said in a joking manner. He paused and looked around the training ground and saw flat grass and trees. With a sigh, he laid down on the grass and looked at the sky. "Speaking of getting stronger, when is Kurenai-sensei going to get here?"

"When you answer my question Kiba-san," Shino said, slight annoyance flickering in his voice.

"And what question would that be, Shino?" A voice asked from behind the trio.

The three of them looked at the voice to see Kurenai standing over them. They all quickly stood up, and faced their instructor, much to the displeasure of the now awake Akamaru.

"The question on if women truly do love scars on men," Shino said, his voice holding a rare tone of curiosity.

Surprise erupted on Kurenai's face at Shino's peculiar question.

"What brought this up?" asked Kurenai, confused at her student's sudden interest in scars.

"Shino was feeling bad that we got beat up and got scars out in the stupid forest," Kiba explained, "So I was trying to make him feel better, but that failed until I brought it up that chicks dig scars."

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at her brown haired student.

"Could you give us your input, Kurenai-sensei?" Shino asked, "Hinata-san was distracted by Kiba before she could give a straight answer."

"Well, every woman is different. Some may find it attractive, others won't," Kurenai explained with a sigh, "I will however say that it does give some sort of mystery on how they got it, but it's still personal preference."

Shino's face fell at his teacher's explanation. Kurenai silently laughed to herself at Shino's scar predicament.

"While it's nice that you were bonding, but shouldn't you have been warming up? I know I was late and I apologize for it, but we can't be slacking," said Kurenai.

"Um, we already had been training for a good twenty minutes," Hinata quietly spoke, "We were just taking a short break while we waited for you, but you were late by almost an hour. Are you okay, Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai's eyes widened at Hinata's words. She had not realized that she had been that late.

"Yes I'm fine, I just had a rough night and wasn't feeling that good this morning," Kurenai started, "But I feel better now, so let's get started."

Kiba raised an eyebrow at his teacher.

"Kurenai-sensei, I don't mean to be rude."

"That's a first," Shino interjected.

Kiba shot a glare at his cloaked friend.

"As I was saying. I don't mean to be rude, but if you aren't feeling well you should go to the hospital or see Hokage-sama or Shizune."

Hinata and Shino nodded in agreement.

"Kiba-san is correct," Shino added, "you should go to see Tsunade-sama at the least. In the meantime, I will spar with Kiba first, and then Hinata will spar with Kiba afterwards."

Kiba's eyes widened and mouth dropped open at his friend's suggestion.

Kurenai chuckled at her students.

"Well it's nice to see you care so much," Kurenai said with a bright smile, "Fine, I'll go and talk with Tsunade-sama. I'll be back as soon as I'm finished. Keep working until I get back."

The trio and Akamaru nodded. Shino immediately grabbed the back of Kiba's jacket and started to drag him to the center of the training grounds.

Kurenai chuckled as she headed towards the Hokage's tower.

* * *

'Why did I listen to my students?' Kurenai thought, frustrated at the lecture she was getting from Tsunade. She looked around the white hospital room that Tsunade had dragged her to from the Hokage's tower. She looked at the blonde who was examining papers on her clipboard as she paced around the room, her mouth saying words at an incredible pace.

"And what if it was something life threatening and incredibly contagious? How would you know if you didn't get checked out?" Tsunade questioned strictly.

"I understand Tsunade-sama. It won't happen again."

"Oh no it won't happen again!" Tsunade said in anger, "You're not only putting your life in danger, you're putting the life of others in danger!"

Kurenai hung her head in shame.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking about it like that."

"Of course you weren't," Tsunade said as she looked at the information on her clipboard, "In fact I have half a mind to put you on leave. In fact, I think I'll put you on medical leave for another eight or so months."

"Eight months!" Kurenai shouted in shock, "Why would I be on leave for eight."

Kurenai paused, her mind adding together how she had been feeling the past couple of days and the fantastic events of a particular night right before Asuma had left for the last time. She looked at Tsunade's smiling face as she felt a smile of her own grow. Feeling a wetness on her cheeks, she brushed away the tears of joy.

"Congratulations Kurenai, you're pregnant."

Kurenai's smile turned to a frown as the realization that Asuma was gone forever returned to her. Tears started to stream down her face as she sobbed.

Tsunade stepped next to the mourning woman and embraced her. Tsunade slowly started to rub the crying woman's back.

Several minutes passed as Kurenai expressed her grief. She slowly stopped sobbing, and looked up at Tsunade, who smiled gently at her.

"It'll be okay, you have lots of people here who care about you and would absolutely be willing to help you," Tsunade said in a motherly voice, "Konohamaru, team 10, your team, and so many more. You're not in this alone."

Kurenai smiled at Tsunade's words and mouthed a thank you. Returning her smile, Tsunade stepped back from the woman.

"Now, you should head back to your home, and rest. If you need anything, let someone know and we'll be there in an instant."

A knock on the door to the room drew the attention of the two women.

Tsunade walked to the door and opened it, revealing her brown haired attendant Shizune. Shizune's hair was unkept and her face slightly red. Her breathing was slightly labored while a small layer of sweat glistened on her body.

"Ah, Shizune, what brings you here?"

Shizune let out a frustrated huff of breath as she sucked in more air.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," Shizune wheezed out, "Your daily visitor is here, and he doesn't have much longer before he has to leave."

"Thank you for letting me know. I'm assuming he's at the tower?"

Shizune nodded as she leaned on the doorframe.

"He said he had about an hour when he got here, which was thirty minutes ago."

"Alright, I'll head right over. Can you help Kurenai check out?"

Shizune nodded once more as she stumbled into the room. Tsunade turned around and looked at Kurenai.

"Something has come up and it unfortunately requires my immediate attention," Tsunade said apologetically, "Shizune will help you with everything else you need.

"Alright, thank you for your help Tsunade-sama," Kurenai shouted across the room.

* * *

A large orange toad in a blue vest hopped on the mahogany desk, looking at the scattered papers on the desk. He picked up a small white glass sitting on a white saucer next to the papers and gave it a whiff. The smell of alcohol assaulted his nose. With a frown, he put the cup back. He quickly eyed the around the saucer, and saw a small plate with choclates and other confectionaries on it.

'Jackpot.'

The toad reached over and grabbed a small chocolate square. He put the chocolate in his mouth and enjoyed the exquisite taste of the high quality chocolate. He picked up another square and lifted up to his nose, taking a deep whiff of the delicious treat.

"I could have you banned from leaving your mountain because of your thievery, Gamakichi,"

Gamakichi turned to the door and put the chocolate square as he looked at Tsunade, her arms crossed and a nasty glare on her face.

With a challenging stare, Gamakichi swallowed the treat.

"How about we just consider it my fee for being a messenger toad? Especially considering I've been waiting here for about forty minutes"

Tsunade rolled her eyes as she moved to her desk chair.

"Just this once I'll allow it, but next time I will not be so lenient," Tsunade warned. "Now, how's everything going with Naruto?"

Pulling out a small piece of paper from his vest, Gamakichi gathered his thoughts.

"First off he is seriously upset at how much time he has spent on learning a new language," Gamakichi said as he crossed off the first line on his list with a pen he picked up off of Tsunade's desk, "Not even sure why he's spending this time learning a language anyways."

"There is most likely a good reason for it, let's just trust that what needs to be done is being done. Now what else has happened?"

"If you say so," Gamakichi said as he moved down the list, "Well, he is slowly picking up how to use a sword, but it's not exactly going smoothly. Pretty sure he said something about breaking a couple windows."

"Please tell me there is some good news that doesn't involve him breaking things," Tsunade pleaded.

Gamakichi looked down his list, and scratched off a few lines. He continued down the list, skipping several lines.

"Uh, he's learning how to cook, clean, and how to repair broken windows and furniture," Gamakichi said as he put away the list, "Unfortunately those three things are going hand in hand."

Tsunade grimaced at Gamakichi's information.

"Is he at least doing well by himself?"

"Well he seems to be doing as well as he usually does," Gamakichi said with a shrug, "He does seem to be wishing he brought more food though."

"Of course he is. That boy probably wouldn't survive if he didn't have ramen once a week."

"Just like me and these sweets," Gamakichi said as he took another chocolate square from Tsunade's plate of snacks.

"What does Naruto want to know about here?"

"Not much, it's only been six days since he left. He only wants to know how Kakashi, Kurenai, her team, and Asuma's team are doing."

"Kakashi is doing much better. He still can't use his Sharingan, but he is almost back to full working order. I'd say he is at ninety percent of his full potential right now. Kurenai is doing alright, most likely going to have a large improvement after today. Asuma's death has had a great toll on her and team 10. Unfortunately team 10 have been consumed with the desire for revenge, Shikamaru is the worst of them all. I wish Naruto was here to talk some sense into him, my words do not have the same impact."

"Let me guess," Gamakichi interrupted, "You being the big boss makes it seem more like you're telling him not to do something because you don't think he can do it, rather than you caring for what's going to happen to him."

"Not sure why you of all toads would say that, but yes. I believe that is precisely the reason why."

Gamakichi gave Tsunade a cheeky grin.

"Well I'm going to be in charge someday, so pops has been teaching me stuff about being the boss," Gamakichi explained as he adjusted his vest. He paused for a second as a contemplative look appeared on his face. "So Shikamaru, he ain't plan on doing anything stupid, is he?"

Tsunade stared at the toad as she internally struggled with whether she should tell the toad or not.

'Naruto has been doing a lot better with understanding why we have done things the way we did,' Tsunade thought, 'Jiraiya did say he received the news about his clan very well. Perhaps he will take this news with caution as well. I am getting tired of hiding things from him anyways.'

"Promise me that you will try your best to stop Naruto from doing anything foolish."

Gamakichi snorted.

"I'll do my best, but we both know him and how stubborn he can be."

"Please, don't remind me," Tsunade said with a frustrated sigh. "I gave permission for them to go along with Kakashi after he had gotten better to track down the people who killed Asuma. If my judgement is correct, that should mean they are ready to go in four days. Kakashi should be able to control things, but those Naras are always scheming and planning."

"Sounds like you have your handful, now what about Kurenai's team?"

"They've all made fantastic recoveries," Tsunade happily said, "Kiba and Shino fully recovered two days ago, while Hinata was cleared by her clan three days ago. Hinata's eyes are perfectly fine, while Kiba and Shino just have to face soreness after not doing intensive training or missions for the past week or so."

Gamakichi nodded as he quickly scribbled Tsunade's answer down.

"Alright, gotcha. Is that all?"

"Yes, I believe it is."

"Alright, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll try to actually be here this time."

* * *

"God damn mother fucking cunt munching asshole!"

Kisame looked at the cursing grey haired man, confused.

"What's wrong with him?" Kisame asked no one in particular.

"He forgot that we have to seal away the three tailed turtle," answered a man with long black hair that framed his face and red pinwheel eyes.

Kisame jumped at the unexpected noise.

"Jeeze, can you at least warn me when you're gonna do that?" Kisame complained.

Itachi stared emotionlessly at Kisame, not answering him.

With a sigh, Kisame turned his attention back to the irate immortal Hidan, who was now being man handled by Kakuzu.

"Thanks for never treating me like that, Itachi."

Itachi grunted, accepting Kisame's thanks. Kisame stared at his partner, waiting for more. A minute of silence passed, as Kisame accepted his fate.

"You could work on being a better conversationalist though," Kisame teased.

"Why? So I can get to know the people who would just as soon turn on me if we were not temporarily working together under a stronger authority?" Itachi questioned in a monotonous voice.

Kisame stared at Itachi. He shrugged his shoulders as he turned back towards Hidan, who had been impaled on a wall by his throat, arms, and legs by several kunai..

"I guess when you put it that way it makes sense, especially looking at the zombie dumb asses."

Kisame started to speak once more, but was interrupted by a voice echoing throughout the hall.

"Everyone, report to the statue. It is time to start sealing the three tailed beast."

Kisame groaned as he walked through the hallway towards the designated chamber, Itachi close behind. He passed Hidan on his way over, and removed the kunai trapping him on the wall. Hidan fell the ground, and mumbled out a thanks as he massaged his already healed wounds. Itachi and Kisame moved on, ignoring the grey haired zealot.

When Hidan was out of sight, Itachi spoke.

"Kisame, after this there is business I must attend to. We will leave immediately after the four days is over."

Kisame groaned at his partner.

"Can we at least get a single good night of rest? This shit takes up a lot of focus and energy."

"Fine. We will get four hours of sleep. No more, no less. Now let's go before our leader gets angry and comes to find us himself."

After he finished speaking, Itachi moved on down the hallway, leaving Kisame standing by himself in his anger.

'God damn that man is a slave driver. Not even Pein pushes us this much. He at least gave us eight hours of rest and a meal between these damn sealings,' Kisame thought as he moved to catch up to his team mate.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: WOOO CHAPTER 20 LET'TS GO TEAM. Now that that's out of the way, back to our regularly scheduled The Other Author's note. First of, can't believe I'm here *insert rehashed words from chapter 10* Second, this is by far the longest chapter at over 6.5k words of actual story. Don't get used to it. I prefer to keep my chapters around 4-4.5k words. Any longer and I find myself starting to lose attention to whatever I'm reading. Sorry to everyone who loves 10k or longer chapters. Third, Let me know if you see any spelling errors. Fourth, Please review. Fifth, ?. Sixth, Profit. Seventh, get attacked by a mob for an old crappy joke. Anyways. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Fun fact: 1 ryo is worth about ten American cents. GO RESEARCH.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything else I may reference. I don't even own a pair of socks! That was a lie. I have socks.

* * *

Deep rumbling rushed through the nearly empty streets as the roaring thunder announced itself. Grey clouds quickly snuffed the morning light with the promises of a rainy day. A teenage boy in a white zipped up shirt and black pants held up by a purple rope pushed his way through the ongoing wind. Seeing a left turn down an alleyway the boy stopped. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. Reading the directions on it, he stuffed it hurriedly in his pocket and walked into the alley.

'This information better be right,' Sasuke thought bitterly, 'I've spent the past few days chasing dead ends and it's just pissing me off.'

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked down the alley. Scantily clad women were standing underneath awnings as men of varying degrees of drunkenness staggered past them. Sasuke examined two men who were talking with each other. They were both of the same height, with the one closest to Sasuke having red hair, while the one furthest had black hair. After a short time, the two men nodded, and the black haired man handed over something to the red head. The red head pointed his finger at a brown haired woman in short shorts, fishnet leggings, and a tight fitting tank top that exposed her stomach and emphasized her large breasts. The woman shuffled over and draped her arms around the black haired man. The man smiled as he led the woman off into a rundown building, using his free hand to start undoing his pants.

Quickly averting his eyes, Sasuke took in a deep breath and started his long walk through the alley. He did his best to ignore the calls from women offering good times and the men claiming cheap prices. With a mental curse, he stopped in the street. He had never been here before and he had no idea where the place he was looking for was.

"Oh did that get your attention my friend?" said a male voice.

Sasuke cursed himself again, his pausing seeming as though he was interested in this man's business. He turned to look at the source of the voice and saw a tall slender bald man with brown eyes and a five o'clock shadow. He stood a head taller than Sasuke and was wearing a ratty black suit with no shirt underneath his open suit jacket.

"So what do you say, twenty minutes for only 400, your pick of any girl, and I mean any of 'em."

'Perhaps this is not as bad as I thought, he seems to be in charge, or at least he knows a lot,' thought Sasuke.

Sasuke mentally prepared himself as he planned on what to say to the bald man.

"Ah, I'm actually already meeting someone here, I'm, uh, kinda lost and nervous?" Sasuke said in a false nervousness.

The bald man cracked a smile.

"I can see what's going on from a mile away, first time with one of the girls, eh?" the man said, to which Sasuke nodded.

The man lightly punched Sasuke's shoulder. He pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket, and handed it to Sasuke.

"Give this to your girl and you'll get ten percent off this time!"

"Uh, thank you so much, but erm, I can't exactly find the place I'm supposed to go," Sasuke forced out.

The man shook his head and gave out a sigh.

"Now that just won't do! Because it's your first time here, I'll give you some help for free," the man cheerfully offered his potential new customer, "What place are you looking for? The black lotus? Desire's End? I know! You're looking for the Club aren't you?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"I'm looking for Honey and Darling's."

The man's eyes widened and he slightly stumbled.

"W-wow that's quite the place," the man said with shock, "You must be quite the high roller to be able to even get into there."

Sasuke quickly looked around and saw that several of the men had stopped their dealings and were now looking at him greedily. A small twinge of regret filled Sasuke as he left his sword behind to blend into the village better. He only had a concealed knife on him, and he did not want to bring too much attention to him. His regret was quickly moved on as he remembered his backup plan. He quickly threw on a sadistic smile as he procured a scratched headband with the emblem for the Sound village and flashed it to the man.

"Blood money goes a long way and I'm just looking to relieve some stress," Sasuke said with a vicious snarl.

The man took a step back and threw a cautionary wave at the other men, who instantly returned to their business.

"Gah, I'm sorry if I offended, we don't need anymore trouble!" the man pleaded, "Look just go to the end of this alley and it will be on your right, big sign, you can't miss it!"

Sasuke gave his best comforting smile to the man.

"Thank you, have a good day!" Sasuke said in a sickly sweet voice. He turned from the man and quickly moved down the alley.

Reaching the end, he turned to his right and saw a large sign of a woman and man embracing in the middle of a golden heart. Underneath the two it read Honey and Darling's House of Eternal Love.

Steeling himself, he walked up to the oak door, and twisted the silver doorknob. Pushing open the door, he was greeted with the sight of a small white and gold room. Directly ahead of the door was a large set of stairs heading upwards. In the middle of the stairs was a door on the current floor, cutting into the stairs. To the left of the entrance there was a small counter where a purple haired woman in a form hugging black dress stood behind, a bored look on her face. Behind her was a large blackboard with nightly rates for rooms, starting at 6,000 ryo.

Seeing a new customer walk in, the woman's face turned flirtatious as she smiled at the new person.

"Now aren't you a handsome one?" the woman said as she eyed Sasuke, slightly biting her lower lip. "Are you meeting someone, or do you need someone to share the night with? We have lots of lovely girls here for you."

With a quick look around, Sasuke saw that only he and the woman were here.

'I could just force my way in, but seeing as she doesn't have a guard she must be pretty strong or have a trick up her sleeve. I doubt I could get away claiming I'm meeting someone, and apparently this place is very expensive. It may just be the best bet for me to do a sob story on how I'm looking for my long lost brother and I was told a man here could help,' Sasuke thought as he stared at the woman who was practically drooling over him. He looked at her body, blushing as he stared at her curvy form. 'Then again, she may just give me what I'm looking for if I'm lucky.'

"I know looking is free, but it's not as much fun as what we could do," the woman said with a sultry wink.

Sasuke shivered at the woman's tone and stepped closer. He took a deep gulp and tried to speak, but his voice refused to come out.

The woman giggled at him.

"I know I'm absolutely beautiful, but you don't have to just stand there."

Sasuke shook his head and tried again.

"I'm, uh, actually looking for someone," Sasuke whispered.

The woman squinted as she tried to hear what Sasuke had said.

"It sounds like you said you're looking for someone, is that right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Yes, I'm looking for someone."

"Oh, now that's a problem," the woman said with a frown, "We have strict non-disclosure agreements with everyone, part of the reason we're so popular."

Sasuke frowned.

"Would you make an exception for me?"

The woman scoffed at Sasuke, her flirtatiousness instantly abandoning her.

"Look pal, we let you snoop around and we instantly lose all our credibility. Who's to say we won't let the next schmuck in here just peek around to."

"But you don't understand, I'm looking for my brother!" Sasuke growled out.

"Oh that's so sad!" the woman said as tears came to her eyes. As fast as they came, the tears vanished. "What's even sadder is that you still don't understand non-disclosure."

"But I'm not looking for him, I'm looking for the man who could find him! My brother has been missing for years and I'm trying to find him!" Sasuke shouted, his anger starting to come over him at the prospect of losing his lead.

"Sorry about your brother, I truly am," The woman said, regret in her voice having not known the whole story. "But to put it simply, I risk this entire business just letting one person in, and I'd rather not have the owners angry at me again."

Sasuke growled slightly as his hand started to move to the concealed knife he had on his back.

"Is there a problem here?" A gruff voice came from behind Sasuke.

"No sir, he's just trying to get help finding his brother," The woman replied.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he slowly turned towards the man behind him. The man was tall with long flowing spiky white hair and a headband that read oil in kanji. He had red lines running from below his eyes down his face. Underneath his right arm was a scantily clad black haired woman who was holding him around his waist.

'Looks like I found him. Hopefully he will hear me out instead of trying to take me out,' Sasuke thought slightly worried.

Sasuke looked Jiraiya in the eyes.

"I need your help to find my brother."

* * *

Warm water fell from the shower head and down Naruto's back as he leaned his head against the white tile wall. He stared blankly at the wall.

'Maybe if I just stay in here forever I don't have to worry about languages or swords or anything.' Naruto shuddered as the warm water slowly started to lose its heat. He let out a groan and stood up straight while turning off the shower. He stepped out of the shower, and picked up his towel from the nearby rack. He dried himself off and stood in front of the mirror. Looking at his reflection, he let out a deep sigh as he started to brush his teeth.

For the past four days he had been trying to learn Hylian to no avail. He was able to remember small words and phrases, but anything past a simple greeting he was lost. Even having multiple clones study at the same time wasn't helping much. Sword training was going slightly better. The feeling of using a weapon instead of his fists still felt incredibly uncomfortable, but he was getting a good idea on how to use it. Even if the broken decorations and windows said otherwise.

Naruto put on his clothes and left the bathroom, dragging his feet along the way. He made his way out to the balcony, where he immediately could hear the clones he made before his shower practicing with Hakkai on their daily morning practice.

"Close, but you need to stress the first syllable when you say where or else you end up saying there," Hakkai explained calmly, "Listen again. Where. There. Did you hear the difference?"

The twelve clones in front of him nodded.

"Good, now say it back to me."

The clones obliged Hakkai as they worked on the tricky process of learning a new language. Naruto looked at the large doors leading out of the temple and considered running away, but sighed as he jumped off the balcony and landed on the ground below, cushioning his fall using chakra.

"Glad to see you're joining us, Naruto!" Hakkai said heartily.

Naruto waved back as he chuckled at the memory of Hakkai's reaction to the first time he had jumped off the balcony. The poor man was worried Naruto had plummeted to many broken bones, and wouldn't stop worrying about him. It took Naruto a good twenty minutes and five different examples on the uses of chakra to finally calm the frantic old man down.

Naruto dismissed his clones as he walked to his teacher.

"What are we working on today old man, sword stuff or Hylian?" Naruto questioned while secretly dreading the answer.

Hakkai studied Naruto's face for a moment and let out a contemplative hum.

"I can tell you are incredibly enthused at both choices, so I will let you choose. I will say, however, I was planning on jump starting your language lessons to catch you up to your swordplay," Hakkai answered.

Naruto grimaced as the choice came to him.

'I could go with swordplay and get more blisters on my hands and create more broken stuff for me to clean up, or I could sit down and not understand anything for a few hours. Both sound super fun,' Naruto thought sarcastically. 'I know I'm not a fast learner, but I always seem to pick it up after I just do it.' Naruto paused as a small smile came to his face.

"Old man, I want you to hear me out on this one."

Hakkai turned towards Naruto, curiosity on his face.

"Sounds like you have an idea. Go ahead, you have my full attention."

"Alright, so I was thinking about how much I don't want to do either of them when I remembered that I always seem to learn faster when I'm actually doing stuff with it. Like how I'm learning how to use a sword a lot faster than speak a language," Naruto explained, to which Hakkai nodded in agreement. "Now I know learning Hylian is super important, but I'm learning so I can use magic. Why not teach me how to use while I learn magic? I'm pretty sure I'd learn super fast, and it's taking care of two things at once!"

Hakkai closed his eyes as he thought about Naruto's proposal.

'On one hand he knows his own learning style better than I do, and at this point I'm willing to try anything. On the other, magic is a tricky business and a single out of control spell could have dire consequences.'

Hakkai looked up at the ceiling.

'Oh Nayru help me.'

He mulled over Naruto's idea. Two minutes passed and he broke his silence.

"Alright, we'll try it out that way."

Naruto let out a cheer, but was quickly quieted by Hakkai.

"Now don't get too excited, we're going to do this the right way," Hakkai said sternly. Naruto calmed himself down and looked at Hakkai, ready to listen. "We will start with the actual practice of magic tomorrow. For the rest of today, I will explain as much as I can on how magic works, and the safety precautions we must take for both of our sakes."

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine at the wise old man's serious tone.

"The first thing we will go over is Safety. After safety we will go over how magic works. Once I finish that explanation we will go over a few safety questions. Upon finishing those questions, we will have our morning break. After the morning break we will do a review session on everything until lunch time, and we will stop magic for the day there. For the rest of the afternoon we will work on your swordplay until dinner. Once dinner is over, you will be free to do as you wish for the rest of the night after you speak with your toad friend. Understood?"

Naruto nodded and took out his notebook and pencil from his pouch.

"I understand. Let's get started."

* * *

The faint smell of smoke tickled Sasuke's nose as he watched Jiraiya gingerly drink his glass of matcha tea. Averting his attention from the legendary toad sage, he saw a group of elderly men smoking and playing a game of cards. Sasuke picked up his own glass of tea and took a small sip, savoring the flavors of the matcha.

"So tell me kid, how long have you been trying to find me?" Jiraiya asked in a slightly curious voice.

"About three days, I just got lucky that you were close to the sound village and everyone knew the white pervert who got kicked out of the bath houses," Sasuke replied in a slight teasing voice.

"Hmm, I guess my particular research habits do cause some lack of subtlety," Jiraiya mused. "Now why are you looking for me? I'd guess that after you discovered your new eyes you felt that Itachi is now a mere stepping stone on your path to power and you believed that him being an enemy of Konoha would give you leverage to recruit me to your mad scheme."

Sasuke stared guilty at Jiraiya. Sasuke was easily able to see himself doing what Jiraiya had just described had he acquired his new abilities in a different way. He paused for a moment, and his eyes widened in shock.

"How did you know I-"

"Unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan?" Jiraiya interrupted, finishing Sasuke's thoughts, "Easy. Orochimaru isn't the only person with eyes and ears everywhere."

Sasuke cracked a small smile.

"It seems as though whoever you had on the inside was doing a terrible job, as I'm not looking for my brother to kill him," Sasuke revealed.

Jiraiya let out a short laugh.

"I find that hard to believe kid. You spent the past seven or so years trying to get strong enough to kill him, and you change your mind now that you have a chance against him?"

Mentally agreeing with Jiraiya, Sasuke began to talk, but was interrupted by a young brown haired woman in a kimono. He watched in disgust as Jiraiya flirted with the woman who prepared the next round of tea. The woman blushed at Jiraiya's sharp advances, much to the ire of Sasuke.

"And you're still a hopeless flirt. I guess Naruto's death hasn't affected you at all," Sasuke said snidely.

Silence instantly filled the room. Jiraiya slowly turned towards Sasuke, rage exploding on his face. Sasuke shrunk back in his chair as he felt the heat of the sun bare down upon him, melting his flesh.

Jiraiya folded his arms and stared down at Sasuke, a righteous fury brewing. Sasuke saw shimmers of blinding yellow light floating around Jiraiya, who continued his silent stare. A sharp pain pierced through the top of his left clavicle. The pain of his cursed seal begging Sasuke to fight against the man in front of him. Sasuke put his hand over the seal, focusing all of his will to stop the cursed power, not wanting to antagonize the enraged man more than he had. Beads of sweat rolled down Sasuke's face as he endured the internal and external onslaughts. He took in a deep breath of air, not noticing he had not been breathing. He looked back at Jiraiya, who maintained his gaze.

"You have ten seconds to explain yourself," Jiraiya said, his voice sending a wave of frost through Sasuke's body.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but his tongue was dry and his jaw refused to move.

"Ten."

He grabbed his glass of tea, hands shaking rapidly.

"Nine."

He poured the liquid into his mouth, and attempted to swallow.

"Eight."

The tea refused to be swallowed.

"Seven."

Sasuke spat his drink back into his cup.

"Si-"

"News of Naruto's death activated my sharingan and it caused me to have a revelation that Itachi went through something similar and I want to know what really happened to cause him this much pain I'm sorry please I didn't mean I re-"

Jiraiya raised his hand, stopping the fearful Uchiha.

"You crossed a line, insulting my love for Naruto," Jiraiya growled, "He is like a son to me."

'Even if he is still alive, that was a really stupid move for someone whose help you need,' Jiraiya thought callously.

Sasuke turned his face from Jiraiya in shame.

"But count yourself lucky."

Sasuke's head snapped back to Jiraiya, causing a pop to echo from his neck. Sasuke ignored the pain and looked at the sage, waiting for him to continue.

"Your reason seems to be the truth, and you have something I need," Jiraiya spoke as his inner spy master started to come out, "I need to get into the sound village quietly."

"My help? It should be easy to get in, just disguise yourself."

"Orochimaru has returned to take up his position as the Otokage."

"I see, but what am I going to do about it?"

"Easy, create a distraction."

"Alright, I'll do it."

"Good, now get a good night's rest, we'll start our work to find Itachi tomorrow morning."

Sasuke looked at Jiraiya, shocked.

"What do you mean we will?"

Jiraiya smirked at the boy.

"Easy. Itachi always travels with Kisame, and having a chat with Itachi will be hard with Kisame there to hear everything and be willing to kill you for sport. That's where I come in. I'll distract Kisame, you talk to Itachi, and then afterwards, you sneak me in to the sound village," Jiraiya explained.

"But what if Itachi just wants to fight me?" Sasuke questioned, worry in his voice.

Jiraiya cracked a smile at the new side Sasuke was showing.

"Run."

"And what do you get out of this instead of going to the sound village first?" Sasuke asked, trying to understand what Jiraiya had to win by risking his life more than needed.

"You ought to know just as I do that Orochimaru is many things, and stupid is not one of them," Jiraiya said, to which Sasuke nodded in agreement. "He would easily be able to see through your façade of facing Itachi without the two of you ever meeting. This makes your distraction much more believable. It will also give me an opportunity to analyze the strengths of Kisame and his rate of growth and gather information about the current strength of Akatsuki."

'I'll also be able to see if they still think Naruto is dead and retrieve any hidden information from Itatchi or Kisame, although you don't need to know that.'

"Sounds good," Sasuke said with resolve, "What time do we leave?"

* * *

Naruto's head began to spin as the information from the past hour circled around in his mind. Hakkai had explained counter measures to the many different types of magical fires, magical acids, magical gasses, and much more. With each new hazard came a solution, and no two fixes were the same. Hakkai had also explained the lengthy process of countering your own magic to reverse its effects, an explanation that left his mind boggled.

"Now the final safety precaution for magic ties in with how magic works," Hakkai lectured, "I'll point it out when we get there."

Naruto turned the page of his notebook, pencil at the ready.

Seeing his student was prepared to take notes, Hakkai started his lesson.

"The first thing we must know about casting a spell are the five different components; verbal, somatic, material, focus, and divine focus. Verbal is fairly self-explanatory. To cast a spell, you must be able to say the spell in a strong voice. The verbal components tend to be describing the action you wish done in Ancient Hylian. Such as saying burst of water from the ground to make water rush from the ground, and so on. If you are gagged or silenced in any way, you cannot cast the spell. Somatic components are incredibly precise hand movements that you must be able to perform to cast a spell. If you cannot move your hands at all, you will be unable to cast your spell. Fortunately many spells only require the use of one hand, so you should be able to use a sword and magic at the same time."

Hakkai paused as Naruto quickly jotted down notes. Naruto looked up at Hakkai, signaling that he was ready for more information.

"Material components are exactly what they sound like, materials required for certain spells to cast them. An example of this is needing powdered leaf of rhubarb, and the stomach of a venomous snake. The materials are consumed after being used, so you will need many materials to cast your spell. Next we have focuses. Like I explained before, using a focus is completely optional, but it will almost always make a spell stronger. Unlike materials, focuses are not consumed by spells, but can be broken if too much magic is channeled through them. A tricky thing for using a focus is finding what spell works best for it. While some are fairly straight forward, like a shell increasing a defensive spell, others can be quite tricky."

Hakkai examined Naruto, and smiled.

"For example, what kind of focus do you think your necklace would be for? It's a very high quality blue gem."

Naruto opened his jacket, reached underneath his shirt, and pulled out the necklace. He looked at the blue stone and looked at it.

'Well, it's blue, and the first Hokage was known for using tree jutsus, which require water. Blue is usually associated with water, so the gem is most likely very good as a focus for water,' Naruto thought analytically.

"Would it be a good focus for water magic?"

Hakkai shook his head.

"Close. While it would be alright for water magic, it is still a high quality gem, making it most effective for spells involving earth," Hakkai explained, "However, whoever owned it before must have been very strong. I can tell just from looking at it that it would be very good as an all-purpose focus."

A large smile broke out on Naruto's face.

'Guess I can think the old lady when I get back for such an amazing gift!'

"Now on to our last object, divine focuses," Hakkai said as he removed a small green headband from his kimono, "Divine focuses are used to cast very specific spells regarding the goddesses. An example of this would be the spell I used to return your friends home."

Naruto's smiled in thanks at Hakkai.

Hakkai returned the smile and continued his lesson.

"Now for a little bit of history," Hakkai said, much to the displeasure of Naruto, "A long time ago, all three of the main components, verbal, somatic, and material, were required. As time went on, an overabundance of hunting creatures and harvesting plants caused a great shortage in materials. As the last of the dragons died out, and the rare weeds had been consumed for their miraculous uses, magic faced a terrifying end. This pushed magicians and wizards to seek an answer to their problem. This problem was solved by previous incarnations of the sages. The sages taught a way to circumvent the need for the material by using their own innate magical power. For every spell, the material could be replaced for a very small amount of their own energy. This caused a great resurgence in magic. Shortly after learning how to replace the material component, it was discovered that you could use larger amounts of your own energy to increase the power of your spell, or even completely replace the need for verbal or somatic components. However, such a gift came with great down sides. Replacing the material component was by far the most efficient use for our inner energy. Replacing the verbal or somatic components took nearly ten times as much energy than it did to replace the material. While powering up your magic was very useful, if you do not specifically limit your spell, the magic will take every ounce of power inside of you until you are either a dried up husk or you are able to stop the spell. Because of these incidences, magic became strictly regulated. Spells were carefully practiced and recorded without their material components and spread throughout the world as those safe to cast. Unfortunately, almost all material components for the most useful spells have disappeared, which leaves us with the task of teaching you how to cast magic without getting yourself killed by casting an infinitely growing spell."

Naruto stared wide-eyed at Hakkai, realization of the dangerous path he had chosen dawning on him.

"You know on second thought, the old fashion way of learning magic doesn't sound too bad," Naruto said in dry voice.

Hakkai chuckled at his student.

"You'll be fine as long as you can remember the counter spells and safety precautions," Hakkai said cheerfully, "Speaking of which, pop quiz! How do you stop a green flame that has no heat?"

Naruto let out a sad groan as he flipped through his notes to find the answer.

* * *

Hakkai held his warm cup of water in his hands as he watched Naruto eat a bowl of ramen while reading a scroll. Naruto had been rather worn out after his training all day and was planning on going to sleep early. Hakkai went to the kitchen to make his own dinner, when he was interrupted by the cheerful shouts of Naruto thanking his perverted teacher, Jiraiya.

'Jiraiya was right, Naruto knew when he'd need that scroll. It's certainly cheered him up a bunch,' Hakkai thought happily as he observed the renewed vigor of his student.

Naruto swallowed the warm noodles from his favorite restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen. He took another bite as he reread the short note Jiraiya had left for him.

" _Brat, I know how much you love this stuff and how you could barely go a couple of days without it when we started our training together, let alone a couple of weeks. Unless something has drastically changed you in the past twelve hours, you'll have gone through your personal backup ramen stash in a couple of days. Basically the end of the world for you, huh?"_

Naruto laughed inwardly as he swallowed the last drops of his favorite food's broth.

"But _don't despair my precious student! Like always, I have arrived with perfect timing to save you from your own doom for yet another time! Hopefully one day you'll no longer need my help, besides me paying for your food. I know you will be able to beat whatever it is that is troubling you. I truly believe that you can do absolutely anything that you want to as long as you work hard and never give up. You will do the right thing. I absolutely believe that with all of my heart and soul. I'm proud to call you my student. That's enough mushy crap, finish your ramen before it gets cold you brat! Jiraiya."_

With a grand smile, Naruto carefully rolled up the scroll, and placed it in his leg pouch. He stood up from his seat, and let out a yawn as he stretched his arms out.

"Going to head to sleep?"

Naruto nodded at the old man.

"Alright, but make sure you speak with your toad friend first. You can leave your dishes here, I'll take care of them. You've done enough work for today."

With a thankful smile, Naruto waved at Hakkai as he left the kitchen.

"Thanks Old Man, I'll go check in with Gamakichi right now."

With a sharp right turn, Naruto made the short walk to the grand doors that lead out of the temple. He grabbed the large door handle and pulled the door open. He stepped out into the forest and took a deep breath of the fresh air. He let out a content breath and closed the door behind him, not wanting to let any nasty insects into the temple. He bit his thumb, and flew through hand seals, and slammed his hand on the ground.

A puff of smoke appeared, and when it cleared it revealed Gamakichi. Gamakichi was now roughly the same height as Naruto, and was very large around.

"Yo!" Gamakichi said with a smile.

"Hey Gamakichi, how're you?"

"I'm doing pretty awesome, I ate a lot of Tsunade's snacks this morning," Gamakichi said as his smile widened.

Naruto chuckled as he imagined Tsunade's response to Gamakichi pilfering her food.

"Sound like more fun than my morning, I spent it all learning safety precautions and the thousands of ways I could die tomorrow. Don't tell anyone about that."

Gamakichi mimicked zipping his mouth shut.

"Not a word. Ready for the usual info exchange?"

Naruto nodded.

"Sure, start me off with Kakashi-sensei, Team Eight, and then Team Ten."

"The scarecrow is doing great, almost entirely back to full strength, but still can't use his Sharingan." Gamakichi paused for a moment, "Hey, why don't you ask your teacher about it since he lives here?"

Naruto stared dumbly at his amphibious friend. After a couple of seconds, he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with his hands.

'I'm an idiot.'

"Yeah, I'll ask him. Not sure why none of us thought about this before."

Gamakichi shrugged as he continued his messenger duty.

"Everyone on Team Eight is doing great, all healed up, and Kurenai is doing much better, according to Tsunade. Now for Team Ten," Gamakichi paused once again as he thought about telling Naruto the truth.

'I know Tsunade trusts him, but she doesn't exactly see him like I do as his friend. Sure he's made a lot of improvements but I'm not so sure if he won't try and leave to "fix" everything. Then again, he's in the middle of nowhere and he doesn't know where people are. Well I guess I'll just jump on the bandwagon and trust him. He'd trust me if the situations were reversed, I owe him that much.'

"They honestly are having some revenge issues," Gamakichi said hesitantly as he observed Naruto. Naruto raised an eyebrow as contemplation arose on his face.

"Revenge issues? What's going on?" Naruto prodded.

"According to Tsunade, they plan on going out to kill the man who killed Asuma, and Tsunade is allowing it. I'm guessing so she doesn't have to make them rogue ninja when they do it anyways. However, she's sending Kakashi out with them to try and control things," the big toad explained.

'Kakashi-sensei is going with them? But he doesn't have his Sharingan and the guys they're going after are pretty strong. I know Kakashi-sensei is strong without it, but he definitely is going to have a much harder time. If only I had a way to know where and when the fight was happening, I could help out with a surprise attack.'

Naruto let out a sigh.

"That sucks," Naruto said flatly, "Sasuke shows where revenge gets you, and it's a terrible thing that rips apart friends and family. I don't think anything could stop them, I just wish I had some way to help."

"I feel ya," Gamakichi said in a supportive voice, "But it's not like you can teleport to them, help out, and pop back here in time for dinner. Besides, you're kinda supposed to be dead, remember?"

'I can't teleport, but I know someone who can do something that's kinda like it,' Naruto schemed.

"Yeah, yeah, dead. Don't think anyone's gonna find me here. Apparently people who come into this forest tend to die, and dead people can't really talk," Naruto said as his plan grew, "Oh. Just keep me posted, would you?"

Gamakichi nodded.

"Will do! Got anything you want to know about?"

Naruto stood still and quiet for a moment.

"Not that I can think of. Just let Baa-chan know that I'm going to be out of reach for a couple days, We're starting up magic practice tomorrow and according to Hakkai it's going to leave me super drained for a couple weeks until I get the basics down, alright?"

"Uh, I'll let her know, but you'll owe me if she gets angry, got it?"

"Got it. I'll make sure to get you the best snacks I can get my hands on."

"Great! Just summon me next time you aren't about to fall over unconscious! See ya!"

"Later!" Naruto said with a wave as Gamakichi disappeared in a burst of smoke.

Naruto turned back towards the door and entered the temple. Upon entering, he headed towards the kitchen, where he could hear the sound of running water. Poking his head into the kitchen, he saw Hakkai washing out his cup and Naruto's ramen bowl.

"Hey old man, I got a question for you."

Hakkai turned off the sink and laid the dishes down into it.

"Alright, what is it?"

Naruto stepped all the way into the kitchen and began to speak.

"So I just got done talking with Gamakichi, and he said my friends are getting ready for a big fight. He didn't say where it was going to happen, and I'm worried it may be at Konoha. Is there any magic that would let me check up on Konoha and get there quickly if I'm needed?"

Hakkai stroked his chin as he examined his memorized spells and Naruto's request.

'First off, I'm surprised it took him this long to ask for a way to check up on home. Second, I recall seeing the instructions to create a scrying pool in a book a couple of years back. However, I don't know if teaching him teleportation would be wise, way too much could go wrong with that. Now where was that book?'

For a half minute, Hakkai thought back to where he had found the spell to no avail.

"I know that there is a spell in the library to create a scrying pool, which would allow you to see anywhere you've been or anyone you know, but I don't recall where the instructions are. What a shame it is. The scrying pool would have been a great beginning lesson as there is very little risk involved."

Hakkai grimaced as he thought of Naruto's second request.

"As for teleportation, too much could go wrong with that. One messed up action and you could send part of you home, and the other part into the ocean."

Naruto paled at the thought of an instant separation.

"Uh, yeah, we'll skip that lesson for now, but maybe my clones could help you find that spell."

"Naruto, that's genius!" Hakkai exclaimed, "I want you to rest for tonight, but tomorrow I will write out the possible symbols for your clones to look for while we work."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement cheerfully.

"Thanks old man!"

"Any time, Naruto. Now go rest, we're going to have a very busy day tomorrow."

Naruto smiled and waved at the old sage.

"Sounds good. I'm going to relax for a little bit before I go to sleep. If you need me for anything let me know. If you don't, I guess I'll see you in the morning. Good night!"

"Good night Naruto."

* * *

A/N2: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter doesn't exactly have a set release date and could be a while. The usual waiting period of one week to a couple of months. Sorry, but life is getting kinda hectic.

The rest of this author's note is going to be looking at my inspirations for the magic system, so if you don't care about that, feel free to skip it.

I decided to base the magic system for my story off of three other known works, while adding things of my own idea which may or may not already exist. Knowing fantasy, my ideas are probably an accidental rip off of already existing things. The first is the Legend of Zelda, obviously. For this I'm going to take a few magic spells and some other abilities which will be revealed at a later date. The second is the Inheritance cycle AKA the Eragon books. From this I've taken the idea of magic being based off the words you've said and the ability for them to be based off your own ability, being limited in power only by yourself. One of my favorite examples from this is when ****SPOILER**** Eragon breaks his falchion after losing his trusty sword to his brother, and casts a spell on his fists saying thicken to be able to punch things to death more effictively with giant calloused knuckles.****SPOILER OVER****. Lastly, I took the five component requirements and will possibly use some spells from Dungeons and Dragons 3.5e. Yes I am a huge nerd, and magic missle is amazing. For things that, to the best of my knowledge, are my own ideas are; the ideas of focuses not being necessary but almost always strengthening a spell, being able to use inward energy to replace any of the three mandatory components, and a few things that have yet to be revealed.

If you have any questions about or suggestions to improve my system, please send me a PM or leave a review. I try and respond to my messages quickly, but life happens and sometimes I just can not respond in a timely manner.

Bonus points to whoever can guess what spell the components Hakkai mentioned could cast.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Uh, hi. It's totally been a week since I last released a chapter. Not several months. Nope. Not sure why you thought it was that long. I always release chapters in a nice, orderly fashion. I hope you enjoy this released on time chapter. Let me know if you see any grammar/logic issues. Those happen when you write something in a week and not 2 months.

For real though. Sorry it took so long. I should, in theory, have a bit more time to actually work on this story, especially since we're getting to stuff I've been looking forward to since the creation of the story! I also want to point out that I'm slowly but surely changing up my writing style to be easier to go with and perhaps less chaotic, as one of my precious reviewers so aptly put it. It will take a little while, but I'll get there. I feel I'm a little bit rusty on this whole writing thing, so reviews are really appreciated for this one. Thanks!

And as a reminder

Underlined words are Hylian

 **Bold Underlined** words are Ancient Hylian

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Legend of Zelda, or anything I reference. Hope you didn't forget that over the two days since the last chapter.

* * *

Loud thumps echoed through the quaint library as dozens of clones continued their task of searching for the scrying spell instructions. Groans and curses followed the flipping of pages and slamming of books upon the many tables in the room.

"I found it!" A clone yelled out excitedly.

Cheers exploded through the library as the clones surrounded the long lost spell.

The real Naruto frowned at the large crowd as he struggled to push through them to double check the spell. His attempts were in vain as his clones pushed him right back. With a frown, he dispelled all of his clones. He stumbled as the dozens of memories rushed into his mind. A minute later, he shook his head and went to the book and examined the page for the symbols give to him by Hakkai. Using his index finger, he carefully compared the symbols, ensuring that it was not yet another similar word.

'Alright, those symbols don't have the tail in the second word, and the first one has the tail at the end. And the triangle is inside the closed thing, not the two lines. The second letter in the first word doesn't have the triangle or the line in it either. I think this one might be it.'

With a sigh of relief and a big smile, Naruto picked up the old book, keeping it open. He walked out of the library and overlooked he large temple. Not seeing his teacher, he smiled.

"Hey old man!" Naruto yelled, his voice echoing throughout the building, "I think I found it!"

Thirty seconds of silence passed before Hakkai appeared, walking out of the kitchen.

He slowly shuffled over to Naruto, a slight frown on his face.

Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head as he examined Hakkai. The old man had a slight splash of water on his shoulder, and it seemed some of his white hair was moist.

"I know you like being loud and energetic, Naruto, but next time try to not startle me while I'm drinking freshly boiled tea," Hakkai stated in an irate voice.

"Ah, sorry 'bout that old man," Naruto responded in a sincere tone, "I just didn't know where you were and it was faster this way." He held out the book, opened to the page with the spell on it. Hakkai took the book and inspected it with a studious face.

'Let's see here, reduction spell, resistance spell, scorching spell, and there it is,' Hakkai thought as he read along, 'Scrying spell and creating scrying pools.' His eyes wandered down the rest of the pages. 'Shattering spell? That may be useful.'

Hakkai gingerly moved the red ribbon attached to the book and marked the page. He then closed the book and smiled at Naruto.

"Well it looks like you found the spell and it only took you a day and a half!" Hakkai cheerfully proclaimed.

Naruto pumped his fist with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Now we shall resume your training."

Naruto's body suddenly slumped.

"Can't I at least have an hour break?" Naruto pleaded. "I've been in that dusty old room for at least seventeen hours, and I almost choked to death on dust about a hundred times!"

"Oh alright, you can take an hour break to recover from your near death by dust bunnies," Hakkai teased, "But after that, we will begin training immediately. No excuses or stalling."

* * *

Calm, rhythmic breathing pulsed through the otherwise silent room as an orange haired man with several facial piercings meditated in the dim candlelit room with closed eyes. His flowing black cloak with red clouds pooled underneath him.

Sensing a slight change in the room, he opened his eyes revealing grey eyes with black circles that closed in on the black iris. He stared at the wooden door frame in front of him.

"What is it Zetsu?" the man asked in a polite one.

Out of the doorframe stepped a large man with half pitch black and half pure white skin. His neck and head peeked out of a large green covering that looked like large venus fly trap.

"I thought you would like to know that Itatchi and Kisame have left and so have Hidan and Kakuzu, Pein-sama," the black half of Zetsu answered.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Pein courteously said, "Are there any other points of interest?"

"You may be interested that Sasuke Uchiha has been tracking down the Toad Sage Jiraiya and has done nothing to cover his tracks," black Zetsu replied.

Pein paused for a moment.

'What reason could cause Itachi's little brother to seek out Jiraiya?' Pein thought as a minute frown showed on his face. 'Whatever the cause it is not good. It would be best to keep an eye on them.'

"Zetsu, I want you to track Sasuke and Jiraiya's movements as best as possible with the highest priority. Whatever it is they are doing, I want to know everything," commanded Pein.

With a nod of response Zetsu stepped back into the doorframe, his body slowly starting to meld into the wood.

"Oh this is going to be so much fun!" the white half of zetsu spoke in a high pitched and carefree voice.

"Did you forget we could end up facing one of the legendary Sannin? One false step and we will die." black Zetsu chided.

"Stop arguing amongst yourself and leave already. You're wasting time." Pein ordered.

Zetsu nodded.

"One more thing, Zetsu," Pein said hastily, "Keep an eye on the zombie brothers. I have a feeling they are underestimating their opponents and I want to contain as much information about our continued operations as possible."

"If they are going to cause trouble for us, why let them leave?" black Zetsu questioned.

"Everyone is free to go and do as they please as long as they answer my call. And besides, I can only take so much of those two idiots' antics while they are in base."

"I feel ya boss," white Zetsu casually agreed.

* * *

The slight creaking of wood mixed with the humming of Hakkai as he thumbed the old tome. He looked down the spell description and carefully marked important instructions and components with a small red dash from his quill. The sound of Naruto coughing broke his attention from his work.

He looked up from his book at the annoyed teen.

"Is there something wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto stared at Hakkai, his eyes stone cold.

"You said we'd start working on magic right after the hour break. It's been two hours after the break and you're still going through that stupid book," Naruto slowly said.

Hakkai looked at Naruto, disbelief on his face. "What do you mean it's been two hours?"

"I mean it's been two hours, old man. I hate to seem pushy, but I'm kinda on a tight schedule," an annoyed Naruto replied.

Hakkai looked down at the book, and flipped backwards several pages. "I'm sorry Naruto, but time just seems to pass by faster and faster as I age." He looked down the page he had turned to, and picked out the list of ingredients for the scrying spell. "The first part of casting any spell is making sure we have the necessary objects and ingredients. For this spell we will need something to hold water, chalk, and a drop of blood." Hakkai looked up from the aged tome. "Why are you just staring at me? Go find the ingredients!"

Naruto created a clone, which quickly disappeared on a hunt. "Is there anything else we can do in the meantime?" Naruto asked.

With a chuckle, Hakkai looked back at the spellbook. "I keep forgetting you can do that. Anyways, while your clone is finding the required materials, we can go over the words and motions you will need. As I said yesterday, this spell has very little risk to it. This is because of its simplicity. After we draw the spells runes on the water vessel, you simply have to add in a drop of blood, be it your own or from another creature, and say show me, followed by what you want to see as you imagine it in your mind. The only catch to this is that you must know what the person, place, or thing looks like. As for hand movements, you must keep both hands in contact with the vessel on directly opposite sides."

"Draw on water thingy, add blood, show me, and opposite hands on water thing," Naruto listed, "Got it. Anything else?"

"We can work on you saying show me so you do not don't break anything."

"Good idea how do you say it?"

" **Show me.** "

" **Stow bee.** "

" **Show me.** "

" **Sow Fee.** "

" **Show me.** "

" **Slow me.** "

"You got the second part right, now for the first. **Show me.** "

" **Owe me.** "

" **Show me.** "

" **Shoe me.** "

" **Show me.** "

" **Show me.** "

"There you go. Now one more time. **Show me.** "

" **Show me.** "

"Correct once again. Now all you have to do is say the name of what you want to see, or just imagine it. If you don't say the place, you will feel a drain on your body." Hakkai paused. "In fact, I think you should forgo saying what you want to see just so you can feel what happens without one of the components in a relatively safe manner."

Naruto nodded as he repeated the ancient words to himself. "Alright, I think I have it down. **Show me** , right?"

Hakkai nodded. "That's right. Now, we're going to move this operation from down here to the library. Inform your clone to meet us there. Oh, and you can find some chalk in the kitchen if your clone hasn't found it already."

Naruto quickly created another clone, which dispersed as fast as it had appeared. "Alright, let's head up there, old man!"

Naruto ran up to one of the pillars and ran up the pillar to the second floor. Hakkai let out a frustrated sigh and grumbled his way up the large staircase. Hakkai made his way over to Naruto, who was leaning on the guardrail in front of the library. The two made their way into the library, where on the table was a small piece of chalk, and an empty partially rotted beat up bucket. Hakkai looked at the bucket, and back at Naruto.

"Well I guess it will work. Not sure why you didn't just grab a bowl, but it'll work." Hakkai said as he walked over to the bucket and chalk. He sat the spellbook down on the table next to the chalk, and opened it to the correct page. Naruto walked over to Hakai and looked at the open page. A look of horror appeared on his face.

"What's that?"

"A diagram of what you will need to draw on all sides of the bucket."

"Why does it fill up six pictures and two pages?"

"It's a lot of work but it's safe. Well unless you mix up some words and turn the bucket into a bomb, but even then you wouldn't be saying the correct words to detonate it. Unless you also changed the command word runes into explosion words. But the odds of that are incredibly small."

"Explosion words?"

"Yes, explosion words."

"I've changed my mind. I'd rather learn explosion words."

"No."

"But-"

"No."

"Fine, let's get this over with."

Naruto picked up the chalk and laid the bucket on its side. For an hour he looked over the writings drawn on the bucket and did his best to copy them. With the last rune etched, he smiled. "Finally, I finished this stupid thing. Let's try it out!" He placed his hands on both sides of the bucket, and looked into it, staring at the bottom of the empty bucket. He heard Hakkai laughing beside him.

"You may want to put water into the bucket so the spell will work."

Naruto picked up the bucket and rushed to the kitchen. He quickly turned the sink on, and put the bucket under it. After filling it three fourths of the way, he hurried back to the library. He dropped the bucket of water on the table, sloshing the water and sending some flying through the air.

"Is that everything?"

"Yes, all you need now is some blood and to say the words while your hands are on the bucket directly across from each other and think of what you want to see. One thing to keep in mind while you do this is that the spell will show you what you are looking for from directly above and around five or six meters in the air. With this in mind, it may be hard to see things inside houses unless they have high ceilings."

With a nod, Naruto bit through the skin on his thumb, and let a single drop of blood fall into the bucket. He hunched over the bucket as he placed his hands on the sides of the bucket's rim. 'Now, what to think of. Oh! I know!'

" **Show me,** " Naruto said as the image of Ichiraku Ramen appeared in his mind.

Ten seconds passed as nothing in the bucket changed. Naruto stared intensely into the bucket, trying to will an image to appear. A whole minute passed as Naruto glared into the bucket.

"Naruto. Look at the outside of the bucket."

Naruto tore his attention from the clear water, and looked at the outside of the bucket. His face fell as he saw the chalk had several spots washed off from his rush to get the water. 'Oh god dammit.' Naruto walked to the kitchen, slightly slumped over. He found his trusty cleaning rag that he had used to clean the many messes he'd made. He took the rag back to the library, and started wiping off the chalk.

Another hour passed as Naruto cleaned and rewrote the runes. Having finished the runes, he bit his thumb allowing another drop of blood into the water and placed his hands back on the bucket. " **Show me,** " Naruto said once more as he thought of Ichiraku Ramen. Several seconds passed as the water remained clear. "Hakkai, it didn't work again, got any suggestions?"

There was no response from the old man.

"Hakkai?"

Naruto turned his head towards the old man and saw him leaning back in his chair, eyes closed. A soft snore came from the old man as Naruto stared at him. Naruto reached over and gently shook the old man's shoulder. With a big yawn, Hakkai stirred back to life.

"What is it Naruto?"

"I think I did something wrong again. I redid the runes, added a drop of blood to the water, and placed my hands on both sides. When I said the words, nothing happened," Explained Naruto.

"Did you switch out the water between attempts?"

"No I didn't."

"That's your problem. You added blood to the water that already had a drop of blood, therefore ruining the spell. These things are very particular."

Hakkai watched Naruto pick up the bucket and leave the library. He closed his eyes, settling back in for another nap, when suddenly he was awoken by a rather loud string of curses. Worried, he looked at the open doorway. A few seconds later, Naruto returned, gingerly carrying a water filled bucket. He placed the bucket back on the table, and repeated the steps to prepare the bucket.

" **Show me,** " Naruto said one more time as he thought of Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a deep burning in his chest and stomach, as if his innards had been set ablaze. He gasped for air and gripped the side of the bucket. The sides of the bucket shattered, the rotted wood unable to handle the pressure Naruto was placing on it. The water spilled over the table. The second the water touched the table, the table became covered in glowing runes and the water disappeared. Naruto fell onto the table.

"Are you alright?" a worried Hakkai asked as he stood up next to Naruto.

"Why. Why did it. It hurt really bad," Naruto hissed out.

Hakkai frowned. "I'm really sorry Naruto, I didn't know this would happen. The reason it hurt so much is that you've never experienced the way magic draws on your body and soul to power the spell. I've become so used to it that I hardly notice the pain for even large spells."

Naruto smiled at Hakkai and gave him a thumbs up. "Well now I know what to expect, right? Just, have to get another bucket or something."

Relieved by Naruto's tenacity, Hakkai stood up. "I'll go ahead and get it for you. Why don't you relax."

With an appreciative nod, Naruto sat down in his chair. He closed his eyes in rest. He felt a pulling motion, and he opened his eyes to see himself in front of a large gate. In front of him, the Kyuubi was grasping its stomach and glaring at Naruto.

"What did you do? Tell me now!" the Kyuubi roared.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Naruto said shiftily.

The humongous kitsune slammed the sewer ground with its tails. "I'm not fucking kidding! What did you do!" The beast screamed.

Naruto braced himself as the world shook around him. "All I did was try and cast a spell, what's it to ya?"

Enraged, the Kyuubi dropped its head right in front of the bars, as close as he could get to Naruto. He glared at the small boy in front of him, trying to cause him to implode from his hate. "You burned me using your magic. You stole from my life. For what you paid I had to pay a thousand times over!" He pushed a long claw through the gate, pointing at Naruto. "You will never use magic again. You don't have the right to do this to me."

Naruto looked at the claw, and back at the enraged fox. A small smile crept onto his face, followed by a chuckle. His chuckle turned into full blown laughter. Time passed as only Naruto's laughter filled the sewer. He calmed himself down, and glared into the fox's eyes.

"Give me a break," Naruto said, his voice threatening to turn into laughter. "After all the pain and suffering you put me through, my childhood, almost killing my dearest friends, all the fear of losing control, you can't take a little pain?" Naruto burst into a laughing fit. Calming himself once more, he returned his gaze to the Kyuubi. "You're immortal. At least that's what you tell me. Losing time off your life is meaningless. As long as I need to help my friends with magic, you'll get to go through this magic pain with me. Now piss off would ya?"

Naruto closed his eyes and opened them once again to the real world. His thoughts were suddenly bombarded with threats of death. Blocking out the Kyuubi, he stood up. Feeling incredibly sore, he stretched his arms and legs.

"Oh, you're awake Naruto," Hakkai said.

"Awake? What do you mean awake?"

"I mean you fell asleep in here yesterday and wouldn't get up."

Naruto blinked slowly. "Really?"

Hakkai nodded. "Yes really. I can understand, though. You must have been very tired after experiencing magic and its drawbacks for the first time."

"Uh, yeah. How long was I out for old man?"

"About fifteen hours. It's just about lunch time."

"Wow, uh. Can I try the magic thing again?"

Hakkai stared at Naruto, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Never let it be said that you can be stopped. You just power through these things, don't you?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled widely. "Ah, you're gonna make me blush. But yeah, nothing stops me when I want to do something!"

"Alright, I'll get the bowl for you, and you can try again," Hakkai said. He closed his eyes and held out his right hand. With his left, he held out his palm. " **Bring it to me.** " As he spoke the words, he closed his hand into a fist, and pulled it towards his body. With the last syllable said and the motion complete, the silver water filled bowl appeared in his hand. He placed the rune covered bowl on the table.

"Wow, what did you say to do that?"

"I simply said bring it to me, or **bring it to me** while I thought of the bowl. Since it was so close, I simply feel as though I took a walk down the hall on the inside," Hakkai explained, "Now, go ahead and try to cast the scrying spell. All you need to do is add some blood."

Naruto nodded and bit his thumb one more time. After a single drop fell into the bowl, he placed his hands on the sides of the bowl.

'Don't you do it you bastard,' the Kyuubi roared.

" **Show me.** "

'No!'

" **Show me,** " Naruto said one last time as his favorite noodle shop blocked out the screams of the beast. Naruto hissed as the magic drew from his soul and body. His mind was filled with screams from the Kyuubi who threatened him with death. Naruto stared into the water as it froze into ice. The ice reflected his face perfectly. His reflection slowly started to blur. Seconds later, the image morphed into a crisp image of the roof of Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto watched as several people moved in and out of the building for the ever popular lunch hour. "Uh, how do I stop this?" Naruto asked, "As much as I enjoy watching people eat at my favorite place while I can't even smell it, I'd like to stop?"

"You just have to let go of the bowl."

Naruto let go of the bowl and stood up straight. "Well that went a lot better than last time."

"I'm glad you're doing better. I'm going to go prepare lunch if you'd like to come."

"I'll join you in a minute, I've got a couple things I want to check out."

"Alright. Just try not to invade anyone's privacy."

Naruto blinked. 'I never thought of that. I can never let ero-sennin learn magic.' Naruto looked into Hakkai's eyes, a serious look upon his face. "I swear I will never invade someone's privacy or let my perverted idiot of a teacher learn how to use this magic."

Hakkai laughed. "Very well. I shall go make lunch. Join me whenever you are ready."

Naruto watched as Hakkai left. As soon as he was out of view, Naruto hunched over the bowl.

" **Show me** Kakashi-sensei!" the feeling of pain burned into Naruto's core once more as the bowl slowly shifted scenes. The quaint image of villagers getting their lunch changed to a broken forest. Naruto watched as Kakashi dodged attacks from a man with black tendrils flowing from his back. The tendriled man caught Kakashi and moved his hand over the leaf ninja's heart. Kakashi grabbed the man's hand and prevented it from going further. The man forced his body weight onto Kakashi, sending them both onto the ground.

'No no no, this can't happen!' Naruto thought, 'I need to help I need to save Kakashi-sensei!' Naruto removed his hands from the bowl. He started pacing around the room. 'But how can I get to him? I thought I'd have at least another day before this happened. I was going to figure out how to teleport so I could help!' Naruto paused. He thought about what Hakkai had just done with the bowl. Steeling himself, he held out his palm. He spoke as he mimicked Hakkai's previous motion. " **Bring me to** Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto screamed as he felt his body being burned and ripped. He felt every part of his body being cut by a jagged flaming blade. His vision started to blur, and the deafening screams of the Kyuubi shook his body. He started to fall over, but his body suspended itself in the air. Unable to breath, Naruto grabbed his throat. The pain completely overtook him, tears starting to flow down his face. Suddenly, he felt his body start to fall. With a great thud, Naruto felt what little breath remained inside him knocked out. He opened his eyes, and was blinded by the sunlight. He forced himself to stand up as the pain echoed through his body. His eyes adjusted, and he saw a large man with red and green eyes staring at him.

"The Kyuubi kid? We thought you were dead."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Well this came out faster than the last one. Two days shy of a month! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. In other news, midterms are over and in theory I should have more time to work on stuff. But as usual I'm not promising anything to come out faster. Y'all know I can't exactly stick to a schedule. In other other news, WOO 100k barrier broken. GO TEAM. I'd say I never expected this story to hit 100k words, but I'd be lying. I've known this was going to be a long story since its inception. We still got a long ways to go. Hope y'all will stick around! As always, leave a review and let me know if you see any grammar, spelling, or consistency issues! Thanks a million!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, The Legend of Zelda, or anything I may reference. I've been too busy riding the Pokemon Sun and Moon hype train to buy them.

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Kakuzu eyed the half-dead blonde in front of him. His skin pale as though he had never seen the sun. His wheezing was the only sound in the clearing. His eyes bloodshot and dazed. A thick layer of sweat dripping from all of his body, having even sweat through his orange jumpsuit.

Kakuzu closed his eyes and released a steady pulse of chakra through his body. Opening his eyes, he saw Naruto had fallen to a single knee. Kakuzu looked behind him at Kakashi, who was slowly starting to stand.

'I don't think I'm in a genjutsu. Kakashi hasn't tried to use his Sharingan this entire fight. Which means that the Kyuubi kid is well and alive,' Kakuzu thought as he stepped over to Kakashi. He commanded the threads in his body to form a spear over his right arm. He prepared to thrust into Kakashi's body but was interrupted by a growl. Turning his head, he saw Naruto's face starting to grow into a snarl. 'Perhaps killing Kakashi is not the wisest idea. With how weak the brat seems it may be easy for the Kyuubi to take over if I anger him too much. I know my limits and single handedly defeating the Kyuubi is past it in my current state.' Kakuzu recalled the threads and kicked Kakashi in the face.

The silver haired ninja let out a slight groan and fell to the ground unconscious.

Pleased with himself, Kakuzu turned towards Naruto. Without hesitation he lunged forward and kneed Naruto in the stomach. Naruto fell to his knees and started to vomit blood on the ground. Kakuzu stepped back, surprised. He had not put much force into the attack in fear of killing the boy and incurring the wrath of his superior.

Kakuzu stepped away from the blonde. He looked at Kakashi and Naruto. 'This is too easy. Something isn't right.' Kakuzu extended his senses and felt nothing out of place. Unsatisfied, he commanded threads to leave his body. The threads formed a winged four-legged body with a white mask for its face. Kakuzu took out a scroll from his jacket and jotted down a note with his finger using chakra to burn his message into the scroll.. He pushed the scroll into the four-legged beast which immediately flew into the air away from the clearing. Content with his plan, Kakuzu walked towards Naruto.

The blonde was on his hand and knees with his face facing the ground, perfectly still. Kakuzu noted that his skin had regained color and his breathing was no longer labored. Kakuzu grabbed the back of the blondes head and pulled it up. He looked into Naruto's glazed eyes. One red and one blue. Kakuzu jumped back and ripped off his cloak and undershirt, revealing his stitched together body and three white masks on his back. The masks moved off his body, threads keeping them connected to Kakuzu's back. He watched the blonde, poised to strike. 'I knew this wasn't good. It seems I may need some backup.'

Kakuzu flinched as Naruto let out a loud, slow breath of air. He quickly kneed Naruto's chest. Naruto crumpled into a pile on the ground. Kakuzu stared at Naruto's body and after several seconds he realized the boy was no longer breathing.

'Oh son of a bitch,' thought Kakuzu as he knelt down next to Naruto. He put his fingers on Naruto's neck. He felt no pulse. Kakuzu rubbed his temples. 'Good thing Hidan went after that Nara kid. He'll never let me hear the end of this.'

Kakuzu placed Naruto on his back and started giving the boy CPR. 'If the boss hears that the kid was alive and that I killed him he's going to be furious. I doubt even a god could stand his wrath.'

A minute later, Naruto sat up with a large gasp. His eyes lazily fell on Kakuzu, both burning crimson. Naruto lethargically examined the stitched man, seemingly unfazed by the threads emerging from his body. His eyes floated to the large masses which extended from Kakuzu and over himself. Following the one above him, he turned and came face to face with a white mask.

'Mask.'

Naruto's eyes widened as he let out a fearful scream. He pushed himself away from the mask, terrified. Feeling the Kyuubi's chakra flow through his body, he grasped his head and shook it.

"No! I won't be controlled by anyone!" Naruto roared, blue chakra exploding from his body.

Kakuzu leapt backwards and commanded his masks to strike, sending a blast of water, fire, and lightning towards the blonde. He stopped the barrage, alert for any motion as the dust cleared. Seeing none, he grimaced. 'Why did I do that? A simple knee to the chest nearly killed him. I need to restrain myself as much as possible. I'm too used to being able to kill anyone I damn well please.' The dust cleared seconds later, revealing a pile of Naruto's. Kakuzu let out sigh of relief. 'Seems that he's hit a second wind.'

One by one the clones dispersed into a growing cloud of smoke. Kakuzu warily started to circle around the pile until all the clones had disappeared, leaving behind a giant ball of smoke. Kakuzu saw the mask opposite him shake. He quickly turned around with a punch.

Behind him, Naruto leapt out of the ground and into the fist of Kakuzu. Naruto collapsed to the ground face first. Kakuzu bent over and picked the boy up by his hair. Kakuzu punched Naruto in the stomach, eliciting a sharp gasp from Naruto. 'Good,' Kakuzu thought, 'He's recovered enough to where a simple hit won't kill him. Now to finish this.' He swung for another punch, when Naruto suddenly moved. With a glowing white kunai in hand, Naruto swung his arm from his leg pouch and diagonally through Kakuzu's chest.

The wind chakra easily sliced through Kakuzu's torso, leaving him in two halves. Naruto pried himself free of Kakuzu's hand and stumbled backwards. He turned away from the split man and looked for his sensei.

Seeing Kakashi, Naruto stumbled towards him. He took two steps when he felt a pull from the back of his shirt. He flew backwards as threads started to envelope him. Using his wind powered kunai, he freed himself and leapt away. Naruto watched in horror as the two halves of Kakuzu were stitched back together by the threads.

The moment the two halves joined, one of the masks fell to the ground. Kakuzu grunted in pain as a heart fell from his back and crumbled into dust on the ground. 'Dammit I'm better than Hidan. I shouldn't have lost a heart like that,' Kakuzu thought, 'Fortunately Kakashi is a lightning type and I can replace that heart after I deal with this brat.'

Kakuzu's fists detatched from his arms and rocketed towards Naruto. Kunai ready, Naruto blocked the fists as he summoned a dozen clones. The clones ran to attack Kakuzu, but were interrupted by the two remaining masks. With blasts of fire and water, the clones were easily dispatched.

Naruto summoned a larger group of clones and quickly blended in with the new crowd. Naruto measured his remaining chakra and frowned. He needed to finish this fight fast. Returning his attention to Kakuzu, he discreetly held his right hand out as a clone moved its hands above Naruto's open palm. A blue spiraling sphere appeared in his hand a second later. The remaining clones surrounding Naruto burst away from Naruto, creating a path between him and Kakuzu. Naruto dashed down the path and thrust his arms forward as he neared the sewn together man.

Kakuzu recalled his arms and masks and leapt out of Naruto's way, causing Naruto to lose his balance. Kakuzu stepped back towards Naruto, now behind him, and moved to strike. As his arm came down, he saw Naruto smiling. Kakuzu felt an intense pain in his back as a clone smashed into him, forcing him to trip over the now prone Naruto. Naruto sprung up and thrusted his Rasengan into Kakuzu's chest, causing Kakuzu to hiss in pain as the blue ball of chakra pushed through his skin sending him flying into the air.

Naruto took in a deep breath, his body completely exhausted. He wiped the sweat from his face and readied himself. Kakuzu's body fell to the ground, creating a small crater. Wasting no time, Naruto ordered his remaining clones to attack the downed man. The clones crashed onto Kakuzu in a relentless wave. Naruto stepped backwards, his body threatening to go out as his second wind started to fade. He slowed his breathing as he watched his clones pile on Kakuzu. Naruto frowned when he realized none of his clones had been destroyed. He reached into his pouch for another kunai, but his hand felt only fabric. Naruto cursed at himself. He had not prepared for a fight before he came to Kakashi's aid.

'Kakashi.'

Naruto turned towards his teacher and shuffled towards him, his body faltering. His mind was bombarded by thoughts and the sound of loud popping of memories of his clones warning him of Kakuzu's onslaught. Chancing a peek, Naruto looked at Kakuzu who was standing alone. Kakuzu's chest opened up, letting another heart fall out. Naruto saw that Kakuzu had only one mask connected to his body, and inwardly cheered. His celebration was cut short when Kakuzu sent an enormous wave of threads at him.

Naruto barely dodged the threads and found himself next to his sensei. He summoned another group of clones to distract Kakuzu as he bent over and grabbed Kakashi's leg pouch. He unfastened it from Kakashi's leg while watching Kakuzu. Naruto felt Kakashi's leg move slightly, making Naruto to look at his teacher's face. Kakashi had one eye open and gave him a slight nod.

"Distract him," Kakashi said before feigning unconsciousness once more.

Feeling something hard with a string attached, he palmed the weapon and slid it into his sleeve. He reached into the bag once more and removed a kunai. He tossed the now empty pouch to the side, and held the kunai in both hands. He channeled his wind chakra through the knife and held the blade in both hands. Naruto stopped moving around the clearing, and faced the large swarm of tendrils racing at him. With practiced slices, he dismembered as many threads as he could.

Seeing his threads being destroyed, Kakuzu growled, his anger multiplying. His remaining mask flew further from his body, sending a large burst of flame towards Naruto. He smirked as Naruto stumbled out of the fire's way. With a flick of his arms, he sent a thread into the ground. The mask shot a fireball at Naruto's feet, forcing him to jump. A maniacal grin formed on Kakuzu's face as his thread emerged from the ground and catching Naruto's ankle as the boy fell. With a sharp tug, Kakuzu's thread slammed Naruto into the ground.

Naruto screamed in pain as a loud cracking sound came from his leg. He looked down and saw blood and bone sticking out of his ankle. Naruto's eyes snapped to movement in his peripheral vision. He quickly rolled to the right, dodging Kakuzu detached fist. Naruto sat up and was met with Kakuzu's knee. Naruto fell back to the ground and clutched his nose, blood pouring from it. Kakuzu picked up Naruto by the throat with his threads, enraged.

"We may need you alive," Kakuzu said with venom, "But we don't need all of you!" The teal eyed ninja commanded his mask to wrap around Naruto's right leg. The mask started to tighten with a sickening snap. The mask's mouth started to glow orange, aimed at Naruto's right arm. Naruto slid the kunai out of his sleeve and stabbed the mask. A large smile grew on his face.

"Boom."

The explosive tag on the kunai exploded, sending Kakuzu and Naruto flying backwards away from each other. Naruto groaned in pain as he landed next to Kakashi.

"Was he not distracted enough?" Naruto questioned, annoyed with his teacher.

"He was facing me," Kakashi curtly replied, "Get him turned around."

"How am I gonna do that? My leg's destroyed!" Naruto hissed.

Kakashi shrugged, "You'll figure something out, you always do," Kakashi replied with confidence in his student.

Naruto groaned in pain as he stood up on one leg and cursed his sensei. 'How the hell am I going to fight like this?' Naruto felt a burning sensation in his stomach as the Kyuubi tempted him. He groaned as he summoned a group of clones, ignoring the beast within. All of the clones stood on two legs, perfectly fine.

Unfortunately the real one legged Naruto stuck out from his healthy group. Naruto looked over his group and smiled. He had a plan. He calmly watched the body of Kakuzu, waiting for the nearly immortal man to move. Seconds later, Kakuzu stood up, his last mask still attached to him and flailing violently. Kakuzu and the real Naruto stared at each other. Naruto celebrated inwardly, Kakuzu had easily seen he was the real Naruto. With step one of his plan complete, He commanded his clones to rush Kakuzu. As predicted, Kakuzu bee lined towards Naruto, destroying several of the clones as he approached the blonde. Naruto faked a dodge attempted and let himself be hit by Kakuzu's fist. A wild smile grew on his face as he substituted himself with a clone far behind Kakuzu. Kakuzu roared and turned towards Naruto and rushed him once more. Kakuzu picked up Naruto by his neck and started to choke him.

Kakuzu noticed the sound of chirping birds too late, as a hand holding a ball of lightning pierced through his chest. Kakuzu looked at the hand and fell to the ground once more.

Kakashi grabbed Naruto before he landed and helped him limp away from the downed Kakuzu.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" a feminine voice called out.

Naruto looked to his left and saw a girl with long blonde hair and a large brown haired boy. "Oh hi Ino, Choji. Just helpin' Kakashi-sensei here with that stitched up jerkwad." Naruto looked over the duo and saw their clothes were ripped and they were moving slowly. "What about you guys? What are you doing here?"

"We were fighting that so called immortal bastard," Choji said, "but Shikamaru told us we were interfering with his plan and he needed to be alone so we came to back up Kakashi-sensei."

"That's great and all but I think we should leave now," Naruto said calmly, "Not sure if you saw, but my leg is kinda destroyed. And it hurts."

Threads burst from the ground, knocking back Choji and Ino and completely encasing Naruto and Kakashi's body, leaving only their heads exposed. Kakuzu walked forward, no masks remaining on his back. "You're not going anywhere," he said calmly, "If you weren't so weak that a single hit would have killed you when you arrived, this would be over. You were sneaky and got lucky with your plans, but I was forced to hold back." Kakuzu commanded his threads to wrap around Choji and Ino. "I should have done this from the start. I should have ignored the threat of that damned Kyuubi. You have killed me three times, and three times too many" Kakuzu droned as his tendrils started to crush the leaf ninjas.

Hearing his friend's screams, Naruto tried to think of a way to escape and save his friends.

"It doesn't matter if you can kill me for a fourth time brat. My fifth heart isn't here and as long as it exists I can be brought back. No matter what, I will have my revenge." Kakuzu forced Naruto to look at the thread cocoons of his friends.

Naruto pushed and pulled against the threads to no avail. He channeled wind chakra through his body, but the threads he cut were replaced instantly. The screams of his friends reverberated through his skull. Panic overtook Naruto. 'No, I can't lose them. I can't let this happen,' Naruto thought as he redoubled his efforts.

The threads slowly crept up Naruto's neck, strangling him. Kakuzu's laughter filled Naruto's mind as he started to fade into unconsciousness. 'God dammit I can't do this I need to focus! Maybe a spell but the words I just need to focus! Focus! What's a spell? A phrase? A word? Anything? I need to focus!' Naruto paused, 'Focus.'

As his mind faded, he thought of the crystal on his necklace. His mind cleared as a gentle breeze caressed his face.

" **Wind** ," Naruto whispered as he fell unconscious.

Seeing Naruto's body fall unconscious, Kakuzu sneered. "You can't even be awake to witness your comrades' deaths. What a shame." With a simple command, the threads surrounding Ino, Choji, and Kakashi slightly expanded. Kakuzu moved to crush them, a quaint smile on his face. The smile disappeared as Naruto's neck started to glow.

Before he could react, the light expanded with a resounding boom. A wave of energy exploded out of the threads covering Naruto. White lights flew from Naruto's neck, decimating all of the threads in front of him and dropping him to the ground. The lights passed through the threads holding Naruto's friends, destroying the threads and throwing them crashing into the ground.

Kakuzu frowned. The wind had stopped blowing. Looking up, He saw the sky had darkened to a sickly green. As quick as the calm had come, chaos unleashed.

Sharp gusts of wind knocked Kakuzu onto the ground. He felt his threads get caught in the wind and being carried in separate directions. His body lifted into the air as torrents of wind tossed him around the clearing like an old rag doll. He tried to pull his threads to his body, but the winds kept pulling them out and lifting him higher and higher. His body started to spin in the air as the clouds started to spiral. His eyes faced the ground and he saw a giant brown haired man with three people on his back running away from him. Kakuzu looked around and saw several tornadoes forming in the distance, utterly destroying the land. His skin started to rip apart as the threads reached their length and pulled out of his body.

'Well played brat,' Kakuzu thought through the pain, 'But next time I'm not holding back and I will win.' Kakuzu's body disappeared into the green sky, a gargantuan tornado taking his place.

The three remaining Leaf ninjas stood up, and looked around them, shock and fear on their faces. What had just happened?

"Choji!" Kakashi shouted, "Expand yourself so you can carry the three of us. I'll carry Naruto and Ino can examine him."

Choji quickly expanded his body using his family jutsu, becoming larger than the nearby trees. Kakashi gingerly grabbed Naruto and leapt towards Choji with a chakra infused leap. He took a handful of the giant's shirt and tightened his grip on his blonde pupil.

He looked at Ino who was hanging next to him

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Alright Choji, let's go!"

Choji ran as fast as he could, trying to out run the tornadoes behind him. Ino's cries to move faster fell on deaf ears as he barreled through the forest.

"God Dammit Choji, why aren't the tornados stopping?" Ino yelled, "They keep following us and are getting worse!" Ino looked at Naruto's limp form. She frowned at the pale boy who seemed to be losing weight at an incredible pace. "I think Naruto has something to do with this, but he's out cold. Anyone got smelling salts?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I had some but they were sealed in my leg pouch."

A loud rustling and crinkling deafened the duo on Choji's back. A hand larger than both Ino and Kakashi held out a very small bag next to Ino.

"Choji! This isn't a time for chips!" Ino yelled.

"But they're sea salt and vinegar," Choji responded, "It's probably the closest thing we'll get."

Ino stared deadpan at the bag of chips. "This is the stupidest thing I've heard. Ever."

"Stupidest thing so far," Kakashi said with a cheeky grin, "I've got stories that would put potato chip smelling salts to shame. Now hand them to me."

Choji held the bag next to Kakashi, who took the chips and opened it. Taking a few chips in his hand, he crushed them and held them under Naruto's nose.

Nothing happened.

'Well I guess that was wishful thi-' Kakashi was cut off by a jolting step from Choji. His hand flew upwards onto Naruto's nose shoving sharp shards of broken chips into the poor blonde's nostrils. A second later, Naruto sputtered to life, coughing and spewing chunks of bloody chips from his nose. His head rolled back as he mumbled.

"What did you say?" Kakashi asked.

"I say wuzu wunt," Naruto said in a loopy haze

"What?"

"I said what you want."

"Did you do something to cause these tornadoes?"

Naruto's head slumped onto Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi shook Naruto. Naruto looked back at Kakashi and moaned.

"Naruto I need you to answer me. Do you know what caused these tornadoes?"

"I dun know. Why ask?"

Kakashi sighed. His student was not being very helpful. "I ask because they have been following."

"Dey magic?"

"What?"

"Are they magic?"

"How would I know that?"

"If magic tell 'em go away."

"Tell the tornadoes. To go away," Kakashi stared at his student.

"Yeh they need to stop. You can stop them if you say stop."

"Tell them to stop?"

"Yeah stop. But not like stop."

"Naruto you're not making sense."

"I know because they don't stop when you say stop. They stop when you say uh. I forgot the word."

"You forgot stop?"

"No I remember stop, I forgot the other stop."

"Other stop? What are you going on about?"

"You know the thing that can stop things. Saying uh **stop.** "

As the words left Naruto's mouth, he gasped. His eyes widened and his pupil's dilated. His eyelids closed and he fell limp. Suddenly, a loud sound of shattered glass came from Naruto's neck.

Kakashi quickly pulled open Naruto's jacket and pulled down his shirt. Embedded in his chest were blue shards of his necklace. Kakashi looked behind and around himself and saw the sky was empty, not a cloud to be seen. "Choji, go ahead and stop. It'll be faster for us to travel normally."

Choji complied and shrunk down his body. Ino and Kakashi, who was carrying Naruto, dropped off of Choji, landing on the ground. The three conscious ninjas all wore bewildered expressions.

Kakashi slowly processed his conversation with his student and thought of the strange word he said. 'I'll have plenty of time to analyze this later,' Kakashi thought, looking at the pale and skinny Naruto, 'Right now we need to get back home.' He carefully held Naruto on his back.

"I'll take point," Kakashi said.

Ino and Choji gave nods of affirmation and the trio started their journey back to Konoha.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: SURPRISE SURPRISE! It's that time once again for another rousing chapter of LoZ:CoP! GO TEAM. This is yet another shorter chapter, but woo boy there is quite a bit in it. I hope you're as excited as I am because we're getting further and further in the story and I just can't wait to see where it goes. In other news, man Pokemon Moon is tons of fun. I have put way too much time into that game. You should totally check it out! Something else I would like to write about is the ever closer Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Hopefully you're as hyped for that as I am. I can't stop watching and re-watching the trailers. What I wouldn't do to play the game at one of the conventions. Oh well. Good things come to those that wait. At least in theory. ANYWAYS on to the real reason why y'all are here. THE NEXT CHAPTER. Thanks for sticking with me and please leave a review!

EDIT: added a couple of lines to fix an issue. Thanks to Twisted Pxl for your help!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, Naruto, or anything else I may reference. But I do have Snorlium Z. FEAR THE PULVERIZING PANCAKE.

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Sasuke glared at Jiraiya's back as they walked through yet another village. Everywhere they went Jiraiya had left Sasuke at a hotel while he went off to different hot springs and bars. For hours Sasuke had been left to sit in his hotel room while Jiraiya was off indulging in debauchery. 'I should have gotten a fake I.D.' Sasuke thought, 'Would have at least taken away his stupid excuses.' Sasuke groaned as Jiraiya slowed down next to an old building.

"Go ahead and get us a room," Jiraiya said, "I've got somewhere to be."

Sasuke stared at Jiraiya. He let out a sigh and entered the building, mumbling to himself about idiot teachers. He reserved two rooms from the stewardess and took both keys. He walked to the closest room and entered. Wasting no time, Sasuke started stretching and going through a light workout fueled by his anger at the toad sage.

Sasuke finished his workout uninterrupted and decided to take a shower. After the shower he returned to his room. He looked at the clock on the wall and groaned. It had been just over an hour and the toad sage was still gone. Sasuke groaned and paced back and forth in the room. He had asked Jiraiya to give him something to learn while he was out doing god knows what, but every time Jiraiya would refuse.

'This week has been useless. Not only does that old idiot refuse to teach me, but we've just been going in circles,' Sasuke thought in a rage.

Sasuke stopped his pacing, his attention caught by a small painting on the wall. Sasuke stepped over to the painting and removed it from the wall, revealing a small hole. 'That's the same damn hole when that dumb ass drunk tripped into it.'

"I remember that!" A voice came from behind Sasuke.

Sasuke turned and glared at Jiraiya.

"You remember it?" Sasuke hissed.

Jiraiya stared at the wall and scratched his chin. "I remember paying for it. Not sure what I'm paying them for if they're just going to cover it up."

Sasuke hung the painting back on the wall. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Them covering it is more work than you've done in the past week."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at Sasuke and cracked a smile. "Is that so?"

"Yes! We've just been going in circles all so you can go carouse around town and spend time with the drunkest woman who can't see how stupid and the waste of time you are! You haven't spent a single second trying to find my brother. It's not like he's just going to come to," Sasuke froze and Jiraiya laughed, "You've been luring him here by causing trouble in towns while I'm around you so people keep talking about Jiraiya's new student. But how are you certain he will come?"

"And the prodigy finally gets it!" Jiraiya cheerfully said, "I know he's going to come because I have eyes and ears everywhere. Not even your brother's little group is safe. I have it on a good word that he was looking for you anyways and this is just speeding up the process."

"Looking for me? Why would he be looking for me?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "I may be the greatest spy you'll ever know, but even I can't read minds."

"Do you know when he'll show up?"

"That's a great question," Jiraiya said. "I have no idea. It will probably happen soon. We've been wandering around these parts for a week and I'm nearly banned from all the bars already. Speaking of which, I hope you didn't need anything. I just needed to know what room you were in for my stumble back!"

Jiraiya quickly left the room, ignoring Sasuke's protests. Jiraiya made his way through the town and entered a small restaurant. He was greeted by a short brown haired man.

"Master Jiraiya we have been expecting you," the man said, "If you will follow me I will take you to your private room. Your guest is already here."

Jiraiya followed the man to a small room in the back of the restaurant. Jiraiya handed the man a large stack of money and a piece of paper. "Give your father my regards," Jiraiya said as entered the room. He shut the door behind him and looked at the cloaked man sitting at a table covered with food in the center of the room.

"You're late," the man said in a monotone voice.

"Sorry 'bout that Itachi," Jiraiya said as he sat across from Itachi. "But your little brother was a bit upset with me."

"And he's not the only one," Itachi retorted. "You've been teasing me for four days now about him. The longer you delay my interaction with him, the chance my partner discovers what I am doing increases."

"Trust me, I know. I just want to make sure that neither of you are planning on doing something stupid."

"Be as that may, I am running out of time. Either we do it on your terms tomorrow, or we do it on mine in two days. Your choice."

Jiraiya frowned at Itachi's words and slight facial expression that appeared on his usually stoic face. 'Why is he so anxious?' Jiraiya thought. 'Something has happened recently.' Jiraiya closed his eyes and folded his arms. A minute later he opened his eyes and looked at Itachi.

"Fine. Tomorrow I'm taking Sasuke out through the west gate towards the Sound village. We'll go off the path slightly to the North about seven kilometers from town. Wait there and I'll arrange for you and Sasuke to have some privacy."

"Good," Itachi said as he stood from the table. "I must return to Kisame and prepare for tomorrow. Thank you for making a sensible decision."

Jiraiya watched Itachi leave the room and let out sigh.

'Damn kids these days,' Jiraiya thought. His attention turned to the vast amount of food and alcohol on the table. 'Might as well enjoy myself. Dealing with siblings is a pain.'

Jiraiya ate and drank to his heart's content. Full and tipsy, Jiraiya paid for his meal and walked through the moonlit village back to the hotel. He knocked on a door that seemed vaguely familiar. Sedconds later the door opened revealing Sasuke.

"Ah good first try," Jiraiya mumbled. "Make sure you get sleep and be prepared for anything tomorrow. We leave at the crack of dawn. No excuses."

Sasuke stared blankly at Jiraiya as he walked away. When the Toad Sage was out of sight, Sasuke closed his door. 'That was odd,' Sasuke thought. 'He seemed agitated.' Sasuke folded his arms as he thought of the possible causes of Jiraiya's attitude. 'Whatever. At least he is taking this seriously for once.' Sasuke prepared to sleep as Jiraiya's words stuck in his mind.

The night passed and dawn broke. Sasuke stared at the ceiling. He had not slept well through the night. 'I've got a bad feeling about this.' Sasuke quickly changed to his day clothes and prepared for the worst. 'I've got two weapons scrolls hidden in my sleeves, my sword is easily accessible but could use sharpening, and I've got enough soldier pills to refill an entire village's chakra. I hope I'm just being paranoid.' Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He opened his door slowly. Seeing Jiraiya's face he relaxed an opened the door.

"I've already arranged our check out," Jiraiya said. "Leave your key on the bed, let's go."

Sasuke followed Jiraiya's orders and the two quickly made their way to the village gate. The two walked in silence. An hour of walking later, Jiraiya slowed to a stop. Sasuke looked at the sage who was gripping his head.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes just a headache," Jiraiya said. His eyes suddenly widened. "They're up ahead. Get ready."

"They're here?" Sasuke said. His eyebrow rased as he watched Jiraiya summon two small elderly toads.

"Oh Jiraiya," Shima said, "Is this your new student?"

"I don't like him," Fukasaku said. "He looks too depressing."

Sasuke inwardly seethed and was about to speak but was interrupted by Jiraiya.

"No time for chat," Jiraiya said. "We've got a rather nasty chakra eating foe ahead."

Fukasaku and Shima looked at each other and smiled.

"My boy this is the first time you've called us for a fun fight and not a serious one," Fukasaku said mischeviously. "Well what are you waiting for?"

Jiraiya nodded his head and stood perfectly still as the two toads hopped on his shoulders.

Sasuke watched in fascination, which turned quickly to horror as Jiraiya grew several warts on his nose and a beard.

"Uh Jiraiya what's going on?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll tell you later," Jiraiya said. "On my cue we need to rush through those trees to the north."

Sasuke nodded.

"Three, two, one, go!" Jiraiya shouted.

Sasuke and Jiraiya barreled through the trees. Sasuke eyed the two figures in black cloaks with red clouds on them. The taller of the two had blue skin and a large bandaged sword on his back. Standing next to him was a face Sasuke knew all too well, his brother Itachi.

Before Sasuke could react, Jiraiya jolted forward and tackled Kisame through several trees. Sasuke and Itachi stared in disbelief at the large series of broken trees.

"It appears that you have planned well with Jiraiya," Itachi said. He turned his body towards Sasuke as one of his hands disappeared inside his cloak. "But choosing me as your opponent was foolish."

Sasuke raised both of his hands up slightly with his palms facing Itachi. "I don't want to fight."

Itachi's eyebrow rose. He sent out a pulse of chakra from his body to dispel any illusions placed upon him. "Clever trick, now prepare yourself." Itachi rushed Sasuke and swiped at him with meticulous arm strikes.

"Damn it Itachi," Sasuke said, "I don't want to fight you, I just want to talk!"

Itachi stumbled in disbelief. "Why? Do you think I'll just give you the secret to my power so you can beat me later?"

"I don't need your secret," Sasuke said as he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan. "I just want to talk."

Itachi flinched at Sasuke's gaze. For a second Sasuke saw a look of sorrow on his brother's face.

"When Jiraiya said you just wanted to speak I didn't believe him," Itachi said.

"What do you mean when Jiraiya said?"

"Do you really think Jiraiya had some plan to lure us to him? No he found me five days ago when Kisame and I made the mistake of trying to enter the village you were staying at. Since then he's been arranging this little meeting of ours."

Sasuke stared at his brother, shocked.

"Why are you telling me this? No, why are you working with Jiraiya?" Sasuke said.

"In due time, little brother. But how did you acquire your Mangekyo?"

"It happened when I was given proof of Naruto's death by the hands of your organization."

"From getting proof?" Itachi asked, confused. "That is most unusual."

"Unusual?"

"Yes. Normally you acquire your Mangekyo through deep trauma. The easiest way of doing so is by killing your best friend," explained Itachi. "To have it awaken from merely learning of your friend's demise and not even witnessing it. You must have been very close to him."

Sasuke frowned as he recalled his time with Naruto. Memories of their time spent arguing and competing against each other. Yet all the time the spent fighting they had enjoyed.

"I cared for him," Sasuke admitted. "In the back of my mind I always thought about him. How he was going to be there to bring me home after I defeated you," Sasuke paused and looked at his brother's face. "But now that he's gone I wonder if I could ever return if I won. I know I can win, this power has guaranteed that. Although I am new to it, I haven't let it completely destroy my vision. You've been using it for years and you must be almost blind."

Itachi winced slightly at Sasuke's words. "I see you've found the other costs of our eyes."

Sasuke nodded. "Yes but it is not the worst. The worst is living with the feeling that I could have saved him had I not turned down this path. And that's why I wanted to find you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean how do you live with this guilt? I know I didn't kill Naruto, but I also know I could have saved him. If I would have listened to my team I could have prevented all of this. This cursed power is a constant reminder of my failures. Yet through all of this, I thought of you. You have these damned eyes as well. What happened to you? What caused your eyes to change? And did you really do it for power?"

Itachi looked at Sasuke, a contemplative look upon his face. He argued back and forth on whether or not he should tell his brother what happened. Minutes later, he let out a sigh as Sasuke patiently waited for his brother.

'It is best I tell him otherwise the truth may be perverted,' Itachi thought. "Very well," He began. "Do you remember Shisui?" After seeing his brother's nod he continued. "Simlar to you my Mangekyo Sharingan activated with my best friend's death. However unlike you I watched as he drowned himself. He begged me to protect the village and our family name, and how could I not fulfill his dying wish."

"Protect the village and our name?" Sasuke said, puzzled.

"If you would just listen you would learn, my foolish little brother," Itachi said with a small smile. "You must not tell anyone this, but our family was planning a coup to take over the village."

"A coup? That can't be true. The Uchiha and the Leaf village have been together in peace since it was founded."

"Yes but we have a thirst for power, don't we? A coup by the Uchiha would have been devastating. Not only for our family and its reputation, but the lives lost of the innocent people of Konoha."

"And that's where you come in," Sasuke said. "You were one of the fastest ranked ninja that Konoha had ever seen. Your last mission was to continue protecting the village."

Itachi nodded. "I was given a choice. I could either join the clan's coup and we would all die, or I could destroy our clan and at least save innocent lives. However before I could do the act, I met a very dangerous man. Madara Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Madara? That's impossible! He's been dead for decades!"

"I thought that as well, but he had all of the abilities that pointed to him being Madara. I observed his actions and believed he wished to create great conflict with our village and clan. So I made him a deal. He would help me in destroying the Uchiha, and he would leave the village alone."

"But wait," Sasuke said. "If you and Madara were supposed to destroy the Uchiha, why leave me alive?"

Itachi looked at his little brother with a smile. "Because you are my little brother and I love you. That was my terms. I would destroy the Uchiha, but you would live."

Sasuke started to quiver. Itachi kept speaking. "I knew you were and still are a good person. And you were the only person I could trust to kill me to pay for my crimes."

"You chose a life of pain and torment so I could live and rebuild or family," Sasuke said, his voice starting to fail. "And I threw it all away." Sasuke was torn from his thoughts as Itachi enveloped him in a hug.

"No it's my fault," Itachi said. "I could have told you and let you stay in Konoha, but I didn't. I was a fool and you should blame me, not yourself."

A short time later the two let go of each other. Sasuke looked at his brother and let out a small laugh.

"You know I had this plan before today. I thought I was going to find you, get some lazy excuse, and then be on my way after we fought. But now I have no idea what to do," Sasuke looked at his brother with a small frown. "I know you want me to kill you, but I can't. I couldn't live with that added grief. But maybe you could do some good still. You were never against the village. That's why you've been meeting with Jiraiya this week."

Itachi nodded.

"Then you can still help him and help the village as well," Sasuke said. "I'll return to Konoha and see if they'll let me back in. I'll build up our clan with honor. Together we can return the Uchiha's to their rightful place. As guardians of Konoha."

"I had a feeling this is how it would end when you refused to fight," Itachi said with a twinge of pride. His mood turned somber as he realized how long he had been talking with his brother. "I need to go get Kisame so we can leave. But before I do there are three things I must tell you and you can never forget them."

Sasuke nodded as he prepared himself.

"The first is watch out for a man named Danzo," Itachi said. "He is not what he seems. Second your eyes can be saved. If I give you my eyes and you have them implanted you will unlock the Eternal Mangekyo. They will take away the negative effects of the Mangekyo and give you greater power." Sasuke recoiled at Itachi's words

"Take your eyes? Could you take mine as well?"

"I could but I will not. Even though you refuse to kill me, I still seek death. If you will not kill me, this sickness my eyes have caused will. When I die I will arrange for my eyes to get to you."

"Brother you can't just give up like that!" Sasuke yelled as he stepped towards Itachi.

Itachi extended his index and middle finger together. He leaned in and poked Sasuke on the forehead with his fingers. "The last thing and most important of all is that I love you and I am proud of you."

Sasuke fought back tears as he watched his brother walk away. A wave of exhaustion came over him as he contemplated all he had learned.

* * *

The soft pummel of rain filled the large room as a spiky orange haired man meditated. His breathing was slow and drawn out and he did not move an inch. He irradiated a calming, yet commanding aura.

His state was broken as he sensed a presence draw near. He opened his grey ringed eyes and looked at a woman with short blue hair standing in the door way.

"Is there something you need, Konan?" Pein asked.

"Part of Kakuzu returned with a message for you," Konan replied.

She stepped out of the doorway allowing Kakuzu's four legged mask enter the room. The creature walked over to Pein, who held his hand out. The beast forced a scroll out from its threads and into the hands of Pein. It waited patiently as Pein read the scroll.

'Orochimaru lied,' Pein read. 'The Kyuubi brat is still alive.'

The splashing of rained stopped. Suddenly a torrential downpour crashed with a resounding boom. Deep roars of thunder filled the air as fury irradiated from Pein.

"All that time was wasted. We pulled away resources. We stopped looking for the eight tailed beast. We started to return underground. And it was for nothing!" Pein yelled. "Orochimaru was our only source of information, and we trusted it like damned fools. He has been a thorn in our side since we were cursed to have met him." Pein's furious gaze turned to the mask. "We will find you and restore you. You have done well Kakuzu. Konan! It is time Orochimaru discovers what happens when you try to stop a god! He has delayed the world's peace for one last time."

Konan grinned at her last remaining friend. "I will prepare for our departure at once."

Pein watched as Konan left the room. He walked over to the window and looked over his city through the raging storm. "Soon all you will know is pain."


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: And we are back. I felt it was best to get this chapter out before Breath of the Wild comes out. Speaking of the new Zelda game, don't expect anything from me for a few weeks. I'm going to play BotW for way too much. I will also so that with BotW comes new Zelda stuff for me to put into this story. I'll go ahead and say it here but there is the possibility of spoilers from BotW starting with the next chapter. Anyways I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. Let me know if you see any grammar/spelling mistakes. As always leave a review, it's always nice to see what you guys think of this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Legend of Zelda, or anything else I may reference. All I got is some gum. No I'm not sharing it. Get your own gum.

* * *

Roaring filled the sewer, making the walls shake and tiles small pieces of tile fell from the ceiling. A faint yelling from a boy could be heard between the booming roars.

"What made you think you could use me as your fucking battery huh?" The Kyuubi roared at Naruto. "You almost got me killed you impudent bastard!"

The Kyuubi, while still large and imposing, was noticeably thin to Naruto. However it was a great improvement from the near skeleton he had seen two days ago.

"Oh shut up you overgrown throw pillow!" Naruto yelled back. "I almost got myself killed too! Yeah it was a stupid mistake but it was better than lettin' that freak get his hand on me!"

The Kyuubi let out another roar as it slammed its tails on the ground, his fury washing over Naruto. "If you weren't so weak in the first place you wouldn't have needed to use that damned magic."

"Weak? Ha! I killed him three times before that final attack. If I wasn't so exhausted from teleporting, I would have easily beaten him!"

"You keep thinking that you stupid brat. Next time you're in a fight you'll find out that you can't save anyone without me. And then you'll be mine!"

Naruto laughed at the Kyuubi. "I'll be yours? If you haven't noticed you can't take control over me when I use magic. I felt you trying when I cast that last spell, but you failed. Even when I teleported you tried to take me over but you were even weaker than I was! And you say I'm the stupid one." Naruto walked up to the bars between him and the Kyuubi and smiled. "In fact I don't think you'll have a say in it. If I need you to save my friends and you can't control me through my magic, why not use your power? You are in my body after all so it is our own shared power."

The Kyuubi swung at Naruto through the bars trying to skewer the boy. Naruto laughed as he dodged the wild attacks.

"I forbid you from using me!" The Kyuubi roars. "You will never use magic again!"

"Is that a challenge?" Naruto said with a wild grin. "I never back down from a challenge."

"Don't you fucking dare."

" **Wind.** "

A large gust of wind swept through the sewers pushing Naruto onto the ground and blasting the Kyuubi away from the bars. The Kyuubi howled out in pain as Naruto hissed and grabbed his stomach and chest. The sewer around Naruto started to glow a brilliant white, illuminating the sewer.

"I guess I win that one," Naruto said to himself with a small chuckle. " **Stop.** " As quickly as the wind had come it retreated. "Don't worry furball, I'm just going to use your power to save people." The Kyuubi roared in response causing Naruto to smirk. "You should be thankful. People may start to see our power as a force of good."

A faint beeping started to echo through the sewer as Naruto felt himself being pulled backwards. 'Oh thank god, uh I mean the goddesses,' Naruto thought. 'Whatever. I'm just happy to finally wake up.' He closed his eyes and allowed himself to be pulled away. When he felt the pulling stop he slowly opened his eyes to a dim light.

Naruto saw that he was lying in a hospital bed in an unlit room. The only source of light was the full moon and stars through the window.

Without a glance, Naruto reached for and pressed a small button on the side of the bed, causing a small red light to emanate from the button. Minutes later, the creaking of a door caught Naruto's attention. With the sound of a flick, Naruto winced as the room was flooded with light. He watched as a young black haired man with sunken tired eyes entered the room. The man looked at the awake Naruto and spoke. "What do you need?"

"Can I get some water? Oh and how long was I out for and what time is it?" Naruto asked.

"I'll get you something to drink after I report you're no longer unconscious. As for your other questions, you've been unconscious for three days and it's about five in the morning."

Naruto uttered a thank you as the man left. With the man gone, Naruto looked around the room. His eyes were drawn to a small table next to his bed. The table was covered with flowers and cards wishing him a swift recovery. Naruto stared at the table and snorted.

'All these cards are reused from the last time I was here,' Naruto thought. 'I can even see the stains from when Kiba knocked my lunch over them.'

He looked away from the table and down at his legs. His right leg was in a cast that ended below his knee. Naruto frowned at the cast.

'My leg itches.'

"Seems you're finally awake, Naruto."

Naruto turned towards the voice and saw Tsunade who was carrying a glass of water. Seeing her stern face, Naruto remained quiet as he accepted the glass. He slowly drank the water in silence as Tsunade stood next to him.

Finishing his drink, Naruto placed the empty glass on the nearby table. Naruto looked at Tsunade who had crossed her arms and had a slight frown.

"Damn it Naruto I thought I could trust you," Tsunade said.

"What do ya mean by that?"

"You know what I mean. You shouldn't have gone to Kakashi. You almost got everyone killed," Tsuade said.

"Yeah, well I didn't. In fact I'm pretty sure I saved everyone," Naruto retorted.

"That's not the point," Tsunade said as she frowned deeply. "I should have never told Gamakichi anything."

"What would you rather I do? Sit around and let my friends die?" Naruto snidely said.

"Naruto you have to realize that you are important and that sacrifices may sometimes be necessary for the greater good," Tsunade said calmly.

"Important? Greater good?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "I know I have the Kyuubi in me. I know I'm important. But sacrificing my friends when I know I can stop it? Never."

"Naruto you got lucky," Tsunade said. "According to Kakashi's report, you showed up almost half dead, and you nearly died multiple times during the fight. Not to mention that your leg was broken in several places."

"Yeah, bu-"

"Let's not forget how many shards of my grandfather's necklace I had to remove from your chest either," Tsunade interrupted. "You should be dead."

"But I'm not. Yeah I messed up but it worked out. All I need now is to train so I can get stronger and this will never happen again."

"Train more? Naruto you're not leaving this room until you're completely healed. And that's final," Tsunade said stopping Naruto from speaking.

"That's fine I can pra-"

"No you will not train or practice or anything. You will sit here."

"Why not? I can practice magic easily without using my body."

"Because it almost killed you. Had it been anyone else besides Kakashi, save Rock Lee and Might Gai, you would have died halfway here."

Naruto smiled at Tsunade. "That's why I need to train. So I can not almost die."

"I understand you want to practice, but no one here knows how they can help you," Tsunade said. "If something were to go wrong who knows what could happen? What if you caused tornadoes to destroy Konoha?"

Naruto grimaced. 'She's right. I need someone to watch over me and the only person who can do that is the old man,' he thought. 'But I don't have time to sit around and wait. Every minute I'm not training the more likely I'll fail to save my friends from the darkness the old man talks about.' Naruto looked at Tsunade who wore a concerned look. 'No matter what I try to do in Konoha she'll stop me. She leaves me no choice then.'

With a smile Naruto spoke, "Alright, alright. You made your point. I'll not practice magic in Konoha."

Tsunade's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly at the statement. "I, uh. Well that's," Tsunade gathered her composure and started to speak once more. "I'm glad you are able to see that I'm just looking out for you. Now get some rest. You should be fit to return home tomorrow," she paused as Naruto let out a groan. "But if you don't cause any trouble I may find some time to take you to Ichiraku's."

Naruto let out a cheer. "Really? You're the best Baa-chan!" Naruto kept up his smile as he watched Tsunade leave the room. The second she was gone his face turned serious.

'Sorry but I can't just sit here and wait,' Naruto thought. 'I won't let my weakness and lack of control kill my friends.'

Naruto took in a deep breath as he prepared himself. He rotated to a sitting position and stood up on his good leg.

'Here goes nothing.'

Naruto held his arm out, palm open. He clenched his fist and pulled it towards himself as he spoke, " **Take me to Hakkai**." Instantly Naruto opened his mouth in a silent scream of pain. He gritted his teeth as he felt his body start to float. A flash of light and a roar of wind came over his body, blinding and deafening him. Naruto felt his body start to fall as his vision came back. Seeing the quickly coming floor, Naruto readied his good leg and silently fell into a crouch. Feeling himself start to fall over he stretched out his arms to catch himself. He looked around the room and saw Hakkai going through a small pantry.

'The kitchen ain't the worst place to show up,' Naruto thought. 'Hopefully the old man isn't too upset. Don't wanna find out right now anyways. I don't feel as bad as when I saved Kakashi but damn I'm worn out.' Naruto slowly stood up on one leg and looked at the door leaving the kitchen. 'Why do I have to be so far away?' As quietly as he could, Naruto started to hop towards the door.

"Are you not going to explain why you left?"

Naruto turned around slowly and saw Hakkai pouring water into a cup from a kettle. With a nervous smile, he responded. "Uh, yeah I uh, had um, something to do."

Hakkai frowned as he put a pinch of tea leaves into the water. "Naruto you can tell me what you did. And if you must know I'm amazed you are alive after using an incredibly inefficient way of teleporting. Especially because you've done it at least twice."

Naruto's eyes widened at Hakkai's insinuation. "It seems I'm just that amazing," Naruto said. Naruto stood up straight and looked Hakkai in the eye. "I'm sorry I left but I had to save my friends. I knew I could save them and nothing will ever stop me from helping them."

Hakkai smiled at Naruto gently. "I admire your passion for your friends, but you can't let your passion ruin your judgment. Had you explained to me your predicament and that nothing would stop you, I would have helped you."

"Ah sorry 'bout that," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not exactly used to people supporting my ideas of rushing into danger."

"But that never stops you, does it?"

"I had to earn my nickname of the number one hyperactive knucklehead somehow," Naruto answered with a grin.

"I suppose that name does fit you," Hakkai said. "Now that you're back, let's go ahead and get started on your train-"

"About that could we not do that right now?" Naruto said. "Normally I'm all for training till I drop, but I feel like I'm 'bout to pass out."

"Of course," Hakkai said. The old man looked down at Naruto's cast. "Do you need assistance in getting to your room? You can use my cane if you need help."

Naruto looked at the yellow cane at the end of the kitchen counter. "That'd be great!" Naruto said as he watched Hakkai move towards the cane. "I can get it old man!"

Hakkai watched Naruto slowly hop towards the counter. Hakkai shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his tea. Pleased with the flavor, he removed the leaves as the sound of the cane tapping the floor filled his ears. Hakkai's eyes widened.

"Naruto!"

"Yeah old man?" Naruto shouted from outside the kitchen.

"Whatever you do, don't swing the handle of the cane at anything!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the odd statement. "Don't swing it at anything? If you say so old man." He shouted back as he looked at the cane in his hand. Naruto slowly walked to his room as he suppressed a mischievous laugh.

'He said not to swing it at anything but he wouldn't give me anything too dangerous,' Naruto thought as he opened the door to his room. Shuffling inside, he closed the door behind him. He then reopened the door, allowing light to fill the dark room. 'Why can't we just make some kinda magic lamp? How about a regular lamp? Either would work really.'

Naruto leaned out of the room and looked towards the kitchen door. Not seeing Hakkai, he turned his attention back to the small dresser next to his bed. With a grin he leaned on the wall and pointed the hook of the cane at the dresser. He took a deep breath in and prepared himself. He swung the cane at the dresser. A large ball of yellow light flew from the cane. The ball struck the dresser, engulfing it in a pale glow. The dresser floated into the air, turned itself upside down, and dropped to the ground. A loud crack filled the small room as splinters flew through the air.

'What.'

He swung the cane at the dresser once more, causing the dresser to flip back to an upright position. Naruto walked over to the dresser and saw the legs were almost broken in half.

'Why does this exist?'

Naruto opened up the drawer on the dresser and removed a scroll from within. He opened the scroll and unsealed a fresh change of clothing. Naruto blinked at the clothes and put them on the ground. He swung the rod at the clothes, flipping them over. He picked the clothes up and tossed them on top of the dresser.

'This is so stupid.'

Naruto leaned the cane against the dresser and laid on the bed. He closed his eyes and entered a dreamless sleep. His was awoken by a strong pull. Opening his eyes, he saw Hakkai standing over him.

"You've been asleep for six hours. I figure that was long enough for a nap," Hakkai said.

Naruto opened his eyes and blankly stared at Hakkai as his mind slowly understood what the old man had said. "Mmm five minutes," Naruto groggily said as he buried his head into his pillow. His eyes popped open as he felt his body being lifted into the air. He looked at Hakkai who was pointing the yellow cane at him. As quickly has he rose, he dropped onto the bed, bouncing off of it and onto the cold hard floor.

Naruto groaned as he sat up on the cold stone floor.

"Now that you're out of bed we will resume your training down stairs," Hakkai said. The old man extended his hand and placed the cane near Naruto.

Naruto looked at Hakkai's hand and frowned. 'Is it just me or does the old man seem a lot thinner?' thought Naruto. With a forced smile, he grabbed Hakkai's hand and stood up on his good leg. Naruto watched as an exhausted Hakkai leaned more on the dresser, which let out a deep creek.

"So uh, what are we learning today?" Naruto said, worry in his voice as they left the room. "Something not to hard? Or maybe some healing magic for my leg?"

Naruto paused. 'Healing magic. Leg. Healing. Magic. Healing. Eye. Aw crap I forgot to ask about Kakashi's eye,' Naruto thought as his head sank. 'And to make it worse I've been here for a long time!'

"Uh but first I got a question for you, it's about my other teacher."

"And what would that be?"

"Well you see my teacher from Konoha came here once and it really messed with his eye, something 'bout him being blinded by a wall of blood. Would you know how to fix it?"

"That would be one of the security measures put in place by my queen to prevent this temple from being discovered by those not worthy. The magic in place is that of a curse and is relatively simple to remove," Hakkai said. "Curses are very similar to spells, but are designed to last for long amounts of times, from a day to millennia. Because of this long lasting nature, curses consume a vast amount of energy and are typically not used by the average person. In fact many curses were cast using an entire tribe of people who would use a focus to increase the power of the curse. Curses can be removed in three different ways; a curse clearing spell cast that is stronger than the curse, a stronger curse that overrides the old curse, or a curse release created by the curse creator. The curse release could be any number of things, from a word to an action performed. A popular curse placed on weapons is that they cannot be put away until they have drawn blood of a person."

"Do you have the curse release for the defense curse on the place you live?

Hakkai stopped walking and his brow furrowed. "I do have the release but it's been so many years I've forgotten it." Hakkai grimaced at Naruto's upset face. "Please remember that I haven't had to worry about removing the curse for over sixty years."

Naruto shrugged. "It's fine old man. I'll just have to get strong enough to break it myself!"

"That's admirable Naruto but also nearly impossible," Hakkai said to Naruto's displeasure. "The defenses placed by my queen were immensely powerful. She used her connections to the goddesses to protect and empower this place."

"This all means Kakashi-sensei is stuck without an eye forever. Is that what you're saying?" A dejected Naruto said.

"Not at all," Hakkai replied. "I made sure to write down what I needed to do and put it in a safe place. I just need to find it." Hakkai saw Naruto's disgusted expression at the idea of spending days looking for yet another set of magical instructions and laughed. "Don't worry, I won't make you look for it. You wouldn't know what you're reading yet."

"Hey I got it if I need to read an element or the scrying words," Naruto jested.

"I will be sure to let you know if I need you to find those," Hakkai said with a warm smile. "Now as for your other question, I unfortunately am not comfortable with performing healing magic on you. There is a reason why there are so few magical healers. Restoring a body with magic is no different than using physical tools. You must know what you are doing or else you could easily make an injury worse or even kill the patient. And despite all my time studying healing magic, I have never practiced on another person beyond healing incredibly minor cuts and scrapes."

"I should have expected that," Naruto said. "My team mate Sakura is a medic. She had to study for quite a while before she could actually heal us. Looks like I get to heal up the old fashioned way of waiting."

"Perhaps not," Hakkai said. "While I myself may not be a healer, I do know of someone who is very skilled at using the forest's natural resources. He may be able to help us."

"Not that that isn't great, but how are we gonna contact this person if you can't leave here?" Naruto asked. "How do you even know he is still alive?"

Hakkai chuckled. "Your concerns are valid but you need not worry. I spoke with him when you were gone. He felt the large surge of power you used and he came to see what happened."

"Let me guess," Naruto said, "You want me to make a giant power surge so he comes looking."

"Indeed," Hakkai replied. "If you were able to send out a large enough signal once, no reason you shouldn't be able to do it again."

"If you say so. What do you want me to do?" Naruto asked.

"Well you let out quite a wave when you arrived, but because he hasn't come to see the cause you should try and send out a simple pulse."

"Alright what do I say? Are there movement thingies? Am I supposed to use a focus?"

"You'll need a sword, the words **form** , **energy** , and **wave** , and to hold the blade away from yourself," Hakkai replied. "Follow me."

Hakkai lead a puzzled Naruto to the armory. The old man opened the room and grabbed a plain looking blade with a simple iron crossbar and wooden handle. He handed the sword to Naruto.

"Now what you need to do is simple," Hakkai said. "While holding the blade you merely need to think the three words **form** **energy** **wave** while you focus on the blade."

"Hold sword, think words, and focus on the sword," Naruto repeated. "Got it, now can you say those words again real quick?"

Hakkai quickly taught Naruto the words. Afterwards Hakkai lead Naruto to the temple's grand entrance.

"Now you're going to do this outside as I would rather not have you break anything in here," Hakkai said. "The spell will keep gaining strength, and therefore taking yours, until you swing the sword. After you have successfully cast the spell, come back in and we will wait."

Naruto nodded and opened the temple doors and hobbled out into the forest, sword in one hand and cane in the other. He took in a deep breath and held the sword out, parallel to the ground. He stared at the iron blade exhaled slowly

' **Form** **energy** **wave** ,'Naruto thought. A loud whirring filled his ears and a slight burning sensation covered his body. He watched the sword in exhilaration as a bright blue and white cone of energy surrounded the blade. The blade let out a loud hum as the energy surrounding the sword turned a radiant crimson.

'Huh, wonder if that's supposed to happen or if it's because of the fuzz ball," Naruto thought. 'Either way the old man didn't tell me how long I needed to let this thing charge for, and the spell drain doesn't really hurt.' Naruto leaned on the cane as he watched the energy around the sword start to spin. 'I guess I'll just give it a minute or two. Maybe something else will happen.'

Naruto looked at the ruins surrounding the temple and looked back at the sword. With a small grin he pointed the sword at a nearby pillar.

'Here goes nothing!' He thought as he swung the sword at the pillar. The red energy leapt off of the blade sending roaring wave of red energy towards the pillar. The energy grew over a meter tall and two meters wide and smashed into the pillar. The pillar shook as small fractures appeared over the ancient stone. The pillar slowly crumbled to pebbles and Naruto started to laugh. His small grin had turned to an ear-to-ear smile. 'Oh that was awesome!' Naruto thought, 'Took really long to charge it, but man that was so cool!'

Naruto giddily walked back into the temple. After closing the door behind him, Naruto was confronted by a bewildered Hakkai.

"How much energy did you put into that?" Hakkai asked. "You should have needed less than a tenth of what you used!"

"You didn't exactly tell me how long I was supposed to charge it for," Naruto said. "So I just decided to give it a minute."

Hakkai leaned on the wall, his eyes wide open in shock. 'This boy is so young but is so strong. At least I know what to teach him next.'

Hakkai pushed himself off the wall and shook his head. "Well it shouldn't take too long for our friend to arrive, but there is obviously much for you to learn. Had I known how powerful your magical abilities are I would have done a different learning plan for you. Starting right now you're going to learn all of the different ways to limit and control your magic."

Naruto grimaced at Hakkai's words. He followed Hakkai down the stairs, who had started a lecture about proper word order to control magic. With a quiet groan Naruto pulled his notepad from his jacket and started taking notes. 'This is gonna be a long day.'


End file.
